Category: World

Canada’s minister for US-Canada trade, Dominic LeBlanc, is in Washington on Friday for meetings with Trump administration officials — the first high-level talks between the two countries since negotiations broke down late last year.

LeBlanc will be meeting with US trade representative Jamieson Greer to discuss the US-Canada-Mexico free trade agreement, also known as the USMCA, which is under a mandatory review this year, his office said.

Formal trade talks between Canada and the US were suspended in October by President Donald Trump over an anti-tariff advert run by the province of Ontario.

Trump has since mulled scrapping the USMCA, or carving out separate deals with Canada and Mexico.

Canada and Mexico, however, have both said that they would like the long-standing North American free trade agreement to remain in place.

“This government is very worried about the future of the bilateral relationship with the United States, the consequences of a zombie CUSMA or the shredding of CUSMA,” said Prime Minister Mark Carney this week, using the Canadian term for the USMCA.

Carney added that the free trade agreement “effectively has been broken in the short term by US actions”.

The USMCA has shielded the majority of Canada’s trade from broad tariffs Trump has imposed on Canada, including a new worldwide 10% duty brought in under a never-used law known as Section 122.

That was imposed after the US Supreme Court struck down duties, including some on Canada, brought in by Trump under presidential emergency powers.

Still, separate – and painful – sector-specific tariffs he has imposed on Canadian steel, aluminium and automobiles remain in place. Before talks broke down last autumn, Ottawa was working to secure some relief on that front.

In recent weeks, both Canadian and US officials have said that some baseline tariffs will likely remain no matter the outcome of the USMCA review.

Meanwhile, US and Mexican negotiators will hold bilateral discussions over the joint review starting later this March, according to Greer’s office.

LeBlanc’s meeting with Greer on Friday comes as Carney wraps up a tour of the Indo-Pacific, where he met his counterparts in India, Australia and Japan to discuss trade and investment in Canada.

On his last stop in Tokyo, Carney signed a new strategic partnership with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, which would deepen ties between the two on defence, energy and technology.

Japan, however, has said that its continued support for Canada’s auto sector hinges on successful talks on the future of the USMCA, which has provided Japanese car makers with preferential access to the US market.

Around 70% of cars manufactured in Canada are made by Japanese companies, according to figures provided by Carney’s office.

“All those cars made in Canada, of course sold in Canada, but at the same time exported to the US market,” said Japan’s ambassador to Canada Kanji Yamanouchi, in an interview with CTV News.

The automotive industry has been a sticking issue for US officials, who have said in the past that they want car manufacturing to shift completely to the US.

Under the USMCA, cars are manufactured in all three North American countries, and the deeply linked supply chain sees a single vehicle crossing the US, Mexico and Canada borders multiple times before it is finished and sold.

US tariffs on Canada’s auto sector, which is concentrated in Ontario, have already led to thousands of job losses.

Carney was elected last year on a platform that included reducing Canada’s economic reliance on the US, which he no longer views as a reliable trade partner.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg50j7y2l3o

Azerbaijan has said it is pulling its diplomatic staff out of Iran after it accused Iran of launching four drones across the border into the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan.

The airport terminal was hit, a drone exploded near a school, injuring civilians, and another drone was shot down, as the war in the Middle East spilled over Iran’s northern border.

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev condemned the “act of terror”, demanding an explanation and apology from Tehran.

On Friday he went further, announcing the withdrawal of staff from Azerbaijan’s embassy in Tehran and consulate in Tabriz “for their own safety”, and state media said the military had been placed on maximum combat readiness.

Aliyev also touched on Iran’s ethnic Azerbaijani population on Thursday – a sensitive subject for Tehran.

Iran denies any role in Thursday’s strikes and has suggested the attack may have been an Israeli false‑flag operation.

Azerbaijan, a small but strategically important Caspian country bordering Russia, Iran, Armenia and Georgia, is now being pulled closer to the heart of a much bigger confrontation.

Nakhchivan is an isolated Azerbaijani territory bordering Iran, Turkey and Armenia, making it particularly exposed during times of conflict.

The drones triggered Aliyev’s strongest public attack on Tehran since he took office.

He said the Iranian forces behind the strike were “ugly, cowardly and disgusting” – an unusually blunt personal insult for a head of state.

But his anger went beyond words, saying that “independent Azerbaijan is a place of hope for Azerbaijanis living in Iran”.

Baku has long avoided this line because of how sensitive it is for Tehran.

Iran is home to an estimated 20-25 million ethnic Azeris, who make up its largest minority group and are concentrated in the north-west along the Azerbaijan border.

The Islamic Republic has consistently regarded their identity and political affiliations as issues of utmost sensitivity. Tehran views any notion of Azerbaijani identity extending beyond its borders as a potential challenge to internal unity.

Aliyev has rarely spoken about Iranian Azeris in such explicitly aspirational terms and doing so now appears to be a calculated move.

Iran is under intense pressure not just from the war but from internal unrest and political uncertainty and Aliyev’s message comes across as a warning to Tehran: any attempt to pressure Azerbaijan militarily or diplomatically could result in a response from Baku, including one that affects Iran’s internal stability.

Iranian Azerbaijanis have long complained that they are denied basic cultural rights, including education in their own language.

Several Azerbaijani activists, journalists and language campaigners are currently imprisoned in Iran, facing charges ranging from “propaganda against the regime” to “conspiracy against national security”.

They are also a politically significant community. This week the exiled crown prince, Reza Pahlavi, has been urging Iranian Azerbaijanis, among other ethnic minorities, to rise up against the regime.

Iran’s current President, Masoud Pezeshkian, is himself an ethnic Azerbaijani and the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – who was killed in the opening salvo of US-Israeli strikes on Saturday – was also claimed to have Azerbaijani roots.

Some of Iran’s shahs across the centuries were ethnic Azerbaijanis as well.

One of its most influential rulers, Shah Ismail Khatai, even used Azerbaijani as the first language of his palace in the 16th Century – a reminder of how deeply Azerbaijani culture once shaped the Iranian state.

But none of these facts have helped Azerbaijanis in Iran to have lessons taught in their own language.

Despite their shared Shia Muslim identity, Iran and Azerbaijan have grown apart politically, and tensions worsened after Azerbaijan’s military victories in the 2020 and 2023 Karabakh wars, which were helped by Turkish and Israeli-made weapons.

Iran views Baku’s close defence partnership with Israel as a serious threat.

Iranian officials and media have repeatedly accused Azerbaijan of helping Israeli intelligence operate along Iran’s northern frontier – claims Azerbaijan denies.

Azerbaijan’s ties with Israel extend beyond security. Israel relies heavily on Azerbaijani oil, and the two countries maintain close political and intelligence co-operation.

For Tehran, this collaboration is at the centre of its suspicion.

Azerbaijan, for its part, has long resented Iran’s political and military support for neighbouring Armenia, seeing it as direct interference in a conflict central to its own security.

That history of mistrust is an important backdrop to Thursday’s escalation, shaping how Baku interprets every move coming from Tehran.

Iran opposes the establishment of a land connection between Azerbaijan and its Nakhchivan exclave. Tehran has consistently objected to Armenia potentially allowing Azerbaijan a land corridor to the territory.

Azerbaijan is a major energy supplier, and its crude oil reaches global markets through a 1,768km (1,100-mile) pipeline that goes via Baku on the Caspian Sea through Georgia to Turkey’s Mediterranean coast.

That pipeline carries more than a million barrels of oil a day and provides Europe with a vital supply route that bypasses both Russian and Iranian territory.

It also supplies Israel with a significant proportion of its oil.

As a result, the pipeline is viewed as a significant potential target for Iran, and any threat of disruption could raise security fears and jolt energy markets.

Both Iran and Azerbaijan deny seeking escalation.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1e9qpy90g3o

Oil prices have risen to their highest level in more than two years, after Qatar’s energy minister warned he expects all oil and gas exporters in the Gulf to stop production within days.

Saad al-Kaabi told the Financial Times the conflict in the Middle East – a region which plays a key role in global energy supplies and shipping routes – could “bring down the economies of the world”.

Brent crude oil rose more than 9% on Friday, topping $93 a barrel – the highest level since autumn 2023.

Rising oil prices can have wide-reaching effects, not only on how much it costs to fill up your vehicle but also on the cost of some heating, food and imported goods.

There are warnings that if the price of oil and gas – which has also surged this week – remain high, this could fuel inflation in major world economies such as the UK and US, where it has been on a broadly downward trend.

Kaabi said oil could hit $150 a barrel if the Iran conflict continues over the coming weeks.

He told the FT: “If this war continues for a few weeks, GDP growth around the world will be impacted.

“Everybody’s energy price is going to go higher. There will be shortages of some products and there will be a chain reaction of factories that can’t supply.”

Already consumers in the UK are seeing higher petrol and diesel prices. On Friday the RAC said petrol at UK pumps had increased by 3.7p, and diesel by 6p – reaching a 16-month high – since Saturday.

The Competition and Markets Authority, the UK’s competition watchdog, says it is “closely monitoring” how petrol station prices develop.

Household energy bills could also rise, although this probably won’t be felt until July as regulator Ofgem’s energy price cap has already been set until then.

There have been fears the current crisis could have a similar impact to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but so far rises in the prices of oil and gas remain below the peaks experienced in 2022.

Asked about the energy minister’s warnings, Jorge Leon, analyst at Rystad Energy, told the BBC the situation poses a “real risk to the global economy”.

“I think we’re on the edge of trying to understand if this is a very short energy crisis with limited implications, or if we’re at the beginning of a massive economic and energy crisis,” he said.

“If this lasts for more than two weeks, then the likelihood of seeing very significant implications for the energy system and the global macroeconomic outlook are much higher.”

Qatar is a major producer and exporter of oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG).

This week QatarEnergy said it had stopped production of LNG following “military attacks” on its facilities.

It declared “force majeure” – a clause freeing it from liability for failure to supply due to events outside its control – and Kaabi said he believed all other energy exporters would have to follow suit in the next few days if the war continues.

Kaabi, who is also chief executive of QatarEnergy, said even if the war stopped now, it would take “weeks to months” to resume normal output.

About a fifth of the world’s oil supply is usually shipped through the Strait of Hormuz each day. But traffic through the narrow passage has all but halted since the US-Israel war with Iran began last weekend.

Blocking the strait could make goods and services more expensive globally, and hit some of the world’s biggest economies, including China, India and Japan, which are among the top importers of crude oil passing through the waterway.

The UAE and Saudi Arabia both have pipelines enabling them to transport oil without using the strait.

But analysts have warned that the longer there are threats to ships passing through the strait, the higher the price of oil – and the shipping of it – will be.

Rystad Energy’s Leon said if countries in the Gulf cannot export oil they will need to store it, and, when this storage runs out, stop production. They have between days and a few weeks of reaching that point, depending on how much storage they have.

Oil prices exceeding $100 a barrel is a “realistic scenario”, but the important thing is how long they stay at that level, he said.

Governments across the world at that point would likely release their oil reserves, as happened after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

Lindsay James, investment strategist at Quilter, said a prolonged halt to all oil and gas production in the Gulf was an “extreme scenario”.

Market moves suggest investors expect disruption to traffic through the Strait of Hormuz will be resolved quickly, she said, but added that the risk grows every day that the conflict will be more prolonged than first thought.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy031ylgepro

Iceland’s government has said a vote on resuming accession talks with the EU will be held in August. Iceland withdrew from talks in 2013 — but rising costs, the war in Ukraine and US imperialism have prompted a rethink.

Icelanders will vote on whether to resume European Union (EU) accession talks somewhat earlier than previously planned, according to Reykjavik’s foreign ministry.

A decision to hold the vote on August 29 passed the Cabinet on Friday. The proposal, put forth by Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir’s center-left coalition government, must be approved by Iceland’s parliament, the Althingi, before the vote can actually take place.

The government says it will present the proposal to parliament early next week.

Should Icelanders support the resumption of talks and should these lead to an invitation to join the bloc, a second and final referendum on membership would then be held.

However, if the August vote fails, the issue is off the table for good says the government.

Iceland public broadcaster RUV cited a new Gallup poll showing that 57% of the population backs a resumption of EU membership talks, while 30% remain opposed.

Iceland: Decades of close ties to EU but skepticism remains

Opinion polls show that Icelanders are increasingly concerned about rising living costs as well as being unnerved by the geopolitical volatility of the Arctic as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drags on and the US having threatened annexation of nearby Greenland.

Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir said Iceland’s negotiating position vis-a-vis Brussels is good, noting that Reykjavik would be a strong and reliable partner within the EU.

Although Iceland has had very close ties to Europe for decades, strong opposition to membership remains, for instance among farmers and those who fear a negative impact on Iceland’s fishing industry if Brussels forces fisherman to share the nation’s rich North Atlantic waters with boats from other EU nations.

A country of around of 400,000 inhabitants, Iceland works with Brussels in the European Economic Area (EEA) and is a member of the Schengen visa-free travel area. It is also the smallest member of NATO, relying on the military alliance for its security.

US and Russia driving Iceland’s interest in joining the EU

EU accession is a years-long process run by the European Commission.

Throughout, applicants are assessed according to 35 sets of criteria — from transparency and financial systems, to fisheries, transportation infrastructure, agricultural regulations, and freedom of speech and religion.

All 27 current EU member states must unanimously agree to admit an applicant.

EU membership would give ⁠Reykyavik a direct say ​in decisions made at EU institutions like the European Commission, the Council of Ministers, and the European Parliament.

Iceland began its initial path toward EU membership in 2009, after the fiercely independent nation’s investment-banking economy was devastated by the 2008 financial crisis. Four years later, Iceland’s then-euroskeptic government decided to withdraw the membership bid.

When Frostadottir’s center-left government was elected in 2024, it promised a referendum by 2027, however, US President Donald Trump’s threats of annexing Greenland from NATO ally Denmark — as well perhaps as his inability to tell the two neighboring Nordic nations apart, as recently seen and heard at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, when he rambled on about Iceland when in fact he meant Greenland — have prompted a greater sense of urgency in the matter.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/iceland-to-hold-referendum-on-resuming-eu-membership-bid/a-76253971

Children under 16 years old in Indonesia will be prohibited from accessing TikTok, Roblox, Instagram and other online platforms.

Indonesia will bar users under 16 from accessing major social media platforms under a new regulation, Communication Minister Meutya Hafid said.

The restrictions will apply to “high-risk” platforms, including YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live, and Roblox. The restrictions are set to roll out gradually, starting later this month.

New restrictions due to ‘digital emergency’

“Our children face increasingly real threats — from exposure to pornography, cyberbullying, online fraud, and, most importantly, addiction,” Meutya said. “The government is here so parents no longer have to fight alone against the giant algorithm.”

The minister acknowledged that the policy may inconvenience children and parents but described it as necessary amid what she called a “digital emergency condition.”

Accounts already registered to users under 16 will be deactivated, Meutya said.

The government has yet to outline how platforms will verify users’ ages — an issue that has complicated similar efforts in other countries.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/indonesia-to-ban-social-media-for-under-16s-minister-says/a-76245473

Voters in the Himalayan nation have soured on establishment parties and politicians. Early returns hint at a newcomer party taking the reins after Gen Z protests demanding change last year.

Early election returns in the Himalayan nation of Nepal point to a potential landslide victory for the newcomer Rastriya Swatantra Party (National Independence Party, or RSP) in general elections, with establishment parties, so far, trailing far behind.

The centrist-liberal RSP was founded in 2022 and has put great emphasis on transparency, digital modernization and good governance.

The vote was largely focused on political change in an echo of deadly youth protests in the nation last year.

Nepal’s Election Commission said preliminary results in the 24 hours since polls closed showed RSP winning three of parliament’s 165 open seats and leading decisively in the race for 110 more.

Establishment parties Nepali Congress, the big winner in the last election; and the Communist Party of Nepal, led by Sharma Oli, were leading in 13 and 11 races, respectively.

A final tally is expected in the next several days.

If the trend holds, RSP could be on track to snatch a nearly two-thirds majority in Nepal’s 275-member parliament.

On Friday evening, Election Commission spokesman Prakash Nyupane said counting was proceeding “in a peaceful manner.”

Interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki, a 73-year-old former chief justice who reluctantly came out of retirement to temporarily lead the nation, also praised the peaceful conduct of a vote she said was critical in “determining our future.”

The Election Commission says a total of 3,400 candidates vied for seats in the vote, adding that voter turnout was 59% in the nation of 30 million.

Former rapper could be Nepal’s next prime minister

Nepal’s vote comes after youth-led protests, largely labeled a Gen Z uprising, sparked violent clashes with authorities last September.

Initially triggered by a proposed social media ban, the protests also lashed out at systemic corruption and economic hardship. In the end, 77 people were killed and several government buildings were burned during the tumult.

In the vote to replace Nepal’s interim government, former rapper Balendra Shah currently looks like a potential frontrunner for the job of prime minister. Better known by his stage name Balen, Shah is one of a slew of young candidates eager to lead the country in a new direction.

Shah has painted himself as a symbol of the youth vote for change in what observers say is the most hotly contested vote since the end of Nepal’s civil war in 2006.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/nepal-early-vote-returns-suggest-massive-political-shift/a-76255769

The family of Daim Zainuddin, an influential two-time finance minister who died in November 2024, said in a statement it was “public knowledge” that the investigation targeted Daim’s widow Na’imah Abdul Khalid and their sons.

The family of Malaysia’s influential former finance minister filed a lawsuit on Friday (Mar 6) against the prime minister, chief of police and the government to halt what they said were false claims of a plot to overthrow the government allegedly involving his widow and sons.

A week ago, police announced an investigation into an alleged conspiracy to “topple the government and sabotage national stability”, which they said involved a local influential figure as well as an international media agency.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Tuesday the suspect had engaged the PR firm to launch a coordinated attack aimed at undermining national institutions before the next election.

Neither Anwar nor the police have identified the suspect or the firm.

The family of Daim Zainuddin, an influential two-time finance minister who died in November 2024, said in a statement on Friday it was “public knowledge” that the investigation targeted Daim’s widow Na’imah Abdul Khalid and their sons.

An unverified copy of a police report circulating online accused Na’imah of plotting to overthrow the government. In a statement last week, she denied wrongdoing and questioned whether consulting a PR firm could qualify as an attempt to topple a government.

The family said their lawsuit sought to challenge what it called “abuse of power” by Anwar, Police Inspector-General Mohd Khalid Ismail and the government, and for the court to declare that the investigation is unlawful and tainted with bad faith.

Anwar’s office, the police and the attorney-general’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The police said last week the investigation was being carried out under laws against undermining parliamentary democracy, an offence that carries a maximum jail term of 20 years.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/malaysia-anwar-ibrahim-police-chief-daim-zainuddin-5976921

Netflix has officially cut ties with Meghan Markle’s polarizing lifestyle brand, As Ever, Page Six can confirm.

“Her show did not go on so it did not make sense to continue the partnership,” an industry source exclusively told Page Six, referring to Markle’s two-season series, “With Love, Meghan.”

A Netflix spokesperson told Page Six in a statement, “Meghan’s 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,” the statement added.

A source close to the matter tells Page Six it was always the plan to get As Ever running on its “own two feet” and said Netflix and the duchess will continue their mutually supportive relationship, adding: “We can expect to see seasonal specials of ‘With Love, Meghan.’”

Meanwhile, an As Ever spokesperson told Page Six that the company “is grateful for Netflix’s 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,” the spokesperson continued. “We have an exciting year ahead and can’t wait to share more.”

Markle, 44, and Prince Harry negotiated a $100 million deal with Netflix after leaving the royal family in 2020.

They released multiple projects under the lucrative contract including their 2023 tell-all documentary, “Harry & Meghan,” which was a huge hit for the streamer.

However, their “Polo” doc and “With Love, Meghan” failed to make a splash.

The latter project — which she used to promote her As Ever goods — was not recommissioned by Netflix for a third season amid falling ratings, Page Six previously confirmed.

Last August, we reported that the couple extended their partnership with the streamer — but for an amount “much” less than the original deal.

Under the new deal, the Sussexes had several projects in the works including adaptations of Carley Fortune’s hit book “Meet Me at the Lake” and Jasmine Guillory’s romantic novel, “The Wedding Date.”

Netflix paid around $3 million for the rights to “Meet Me at the Lake.”

But Page Six was recently told that both projects were stuck in limbo, leaving their entire deal in jeopardy.

“Three years in development for a movie like this at Netflix isn’t good,” a Hollywood source told us.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2026/03/06/royal-family/netflix-ends-partnership-with-meghan-markle/

“But I have a question for you: I just want to know how the protests you are holding where you live, disturbing things in your area, are going to benefit you?” Shilpa Chaudhary asked protesters in India.

Criticising protests in India over the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israel strikes, an Indian-origin woman who serves in the US army has said they hurt how others view the country.

In a video post on Instagram in Hindi, Shilpa Chaudhary, who holds a US Green Card, said she didn’t feel like celebrating Holi this year because of all that is going on in the world.

Asserting that she is not anti-Muslim and has a Muslim best friend, Chaudhary said she is against radicalism.

“What I want to ensure is that I don’t want the people of India to be made a mockery of, which is happening worldwide. Maybe you don’t realise it while sitting there (in India), but I can see a lot from where I am now,” she said.

“Protests are being held in India in various places. I understand that you are religiously very hurt right now. I won’t comment on that. But I have a question for you: I just want to know how the protests you are holding where you live, disturbing things in your area, are going to benefit you? What are you demanding from your state government? What will they do? How were they involved?” she asked.

Chaudhary also claimed that people in Iran are celebrating Khamenei’s death, and this wouldn’t have happened if he were truly a good person.

“So, please, open your eyes. Think bigger. India is viewed with great respect worldwide. Please don’t destroy that respect… Love the country where you live. Don’t force people to say that if you love another country so much, you should go and live there,” she said.

Khamenei was killed, along with several other high-profile figures, on Saturday, the first day of the strikes carried out by US and Israel. He took control of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1989 after the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/iran-israel-war-iran-war-israel-war-idont-want-people-to-mock-indian-in-us-army-slams-pro-khamenei-protests-11178889?pfrom=home-ndtv_topstories

The Israeli Air Force said approximately 50 jets took part in the operation, guided by precise intelligence from Israel’s Military Intelligence and coordinated with Mossad.

Israeli fighter jets carried out a major strike in the heart of Tehran early on Friday, targeting an underground bunker built beneath the leadership compound of Iran’s supreme leader. The Israeli Air Force said approximately 50 jets took part in the operation, guided by precise intelligence from Israel’s Military Intelligence and coordinated with Mossad. The target was the underground bunker constructed for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The Israeli military described the bunker as serving as “a secure emergency asset” intended for Khamenei to manage fighting during a conflict. It was never used by Khamenei because he had already been eliminated in earlier strikes during Operation “Roaring Lion”. After his death, the compound continued to be used by other senior officials of the Iranian regime.

According to the Israeli Air Force, the regime had spent years developing the underground site with the aim of creating a base to advance its military plans and to promote what Israel called its extremist and brutal ideology directed against Israel and the Western world.

“The underground bunker sprawled across entire streets in the heart of Tehran and included multiple entry points and rooms for gatherings of the senior officials of the Iranian terror regime,” the Israeli Air Force said in a statement.

The strike followed extensive intelligence gathering and prolonged research by Israel’s Military Intelligence. The leadership compound itself served as the central and most important headquarters of the Iranian regime. The Israeli military said the destruction of the bunker has further damaged the regime’s command and control capabilities.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who held power as Iran’s supreme leader for more than three decades, was killed in joint United States and Israeli strikes. He was 86. Iranian state media announced his death early on Sunday following a major attack launched by Israel and the United States.

Hours earlier, US President Donald Trump stated that Khamenei had been killed in the joint operation.

Khamenei took control of the Islamic Republic in 1989 after the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader who had overthrown the Shah and established rule by Shiite Muslim clerics. Khomeini had been a charismatic figure who led the 1979 revolution. Khamenei, by contrast, was a more reserved personality with less prominent religious qualifications.

He turned the revolutionary system into a functioning state apparatus and ruled for far longer than his predecessor. During his time in power, he expanded the Shiite clerical establishment and strengthened the Revolutionary Guard, turning it into the most powerful institution in the country.

The Guard served as an elite military force, controlled the ballistic missile programme and operated across large parts of Iran’s economy.

Iranian state media reported that Khamenei’s daughter, his son-in-law, a grandchild and a daughter-in-law were also killed in Saturday’s attack. The government has announced 40 days of public mourning and a seven-day nationwide public holiday.

Fresh Wave Of Attacks

On Friday morning, the Israeli military announced the start of a broad wave of attacks. Witnesses reported intense explosions in Tehran and around missile bases near Kermanshah. Israel said it had destroyed most of Iran’s air-defence systems and missile launchers. Iran responded by firing missiles and drones at Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, all countries hosting US forces. No immediate casualties were reported from those attacks.

In Lebanon, Israel carried out multiple airstrikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut and other areas, prompting large numbers of people to flee.

The United States and Israel have conducted nationwide strikes on Iranian military sites, leadership targets and nuclear facilities. Iranian counterattacks have affected Arab states, disrupted oil supplies and global air travel. Officials report at least 1,230 deaths in Iran, more than 120 in Lebanon, around a dozen in Israel and six US troops killed.

The US military reported striking an Iranian drone carrier, the IRIS Shahid Bagheri, which caught fire. The vessel is a converted container ship with a 180-metre runway for drones and a range of 22,000 nautical miles without refuelling.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/iran-israel-war-live-updates-tehran-khamenei-mossad-cia-50-israeli-fighter-jets-with-mossad-help-rain-hellfire-on-tehran-bunkers-11177888?pfrom=home-ndtv_topstories

President Donald Trump said on Friday that Iran’s leadership has been “neutered,” adding that he is seeking new leadership in the country that would treat the United States and Israel well, even if that leader is religious and the system is not democratic.

“Iran is not the same country it was a week ago. A week ago they were powerful, and now they’ve been indeed neutered,” he told CNN in a phone interview.

During the conversation, he also said Cuba would fall “pretty soon” and stressed the significance of voter ID legislation, suggesting it could influence his endorsement in the Texas Senate race.

“Cuba is gonna fall pretty soon, by the way, unrelated, but Cuba is gonna fall too. They want to make a deal so badly,” he said.

Trump also said he believes selecting a new leader in Iran would be straightforward, a process he has indicated he would play a role in, and again likened the situation to Venezuela, where the United States captured Nicolás Maduro earlier this year and installed his deputy as leader.

“It’s gonna work very easily. It’s going to work like did in Venezuela. We have a wonderful leader there. She’s doing a fantastic job. And it’s going to work Iike in Venezuela,” he said, referring to acting president Delcy Rodriguez.

Trump also indicated that he would be open to the possibility of a religious leader in Iran. “Well I may be yeah, I mean, it depends on who the person is. I don’t mind religious leaders. I deal with a lot of religious leaders and they are fantastic,” he said.

When asked whether he believes Iran must become a democratic state, Trump told CNN, “No, I’m saying there has to be a leader that’s going be fair and just. Do a great job. Treat the United States and Israel well, and treat the other countries in the Middle East — they’re all our partners.”

He further praised the United States’ ties with countries in the West Asia, saying they are “fighting for us.”

Source : https://www.news18.com/world/iran-leadership-neutered-trump-looks-for-new-leader-that-treats-us-and-israel-well-ws-l-9946968.html

This is the second post to appear on Khamenei’s account since his reported death.

A post from the X account of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday warned Israel that the “Zionist regime has made a big mistake”, days after he was reportedly killed in a joint US–Israel strike on February 28.

The message, shared on the account six days after the strike, said, “The Zionist regime has made a big mistake, and its consequences will make the regime desperate, by God’s grace.”

The post was accompanied by an AI-generated image that appeared to show a hypersonic missile, although the message itself did not mention any specific weapon or refer to possible attacks.

This is the second post to appear on Khamenei’s account since his reported death. On March 1, the account shared a verse from the Holy Quran. “In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. Among the faithful are men who fulfil what they have pledged to Allah… and they have not changed in the least (Holy Quran 33:23),” the post read. It remains unclear who is currently managing the account.

War In West Asia Escalates

The online warning comes as the war in West Asia continues to intensify. The conflict began on February 28 with a joint US–Israeli attack on Iran. Tehran responded with strikes across the Gulf region, targeting locations in Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, which it said were aimed at US military bases. Iran has also launched attacks on Israel.

Now in its seventh day, the conflict has expanded beyond the immediate region, affecting global energy and transport routes. Oil prices have surged sharply and shipping through the crucial Strait of Hormuz has been severely disrupted.

The fighting has also drawn in other actors. Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon launched missiles at Israel, prompting Israeli air strikes in southern and eastern Lebanon. Heavy damage has been reported in the southern suburbs of Beirut, a stronghold of the group.

Source : https://www.news18.com/world/zionist-regime-made-a-big-mistake-warning-to-israel-from-khameneis-x-account-ws-l-9946870.html

A US federal court in Brooklyn convicted Pakistani national Asif Raza Merchant of plotting to assassinate senior American political figures, including President Donald Trump. Prosecutors said the murder-for-hire plan was linked to retaliation for the 2020 killing of Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani. Merchant, arrested in July 2024, now faces possible life imprisonment.

A Pakistani national accused of links to Iran has been convicted in a United States federal court for plotting to assassinate senior American political figures, including US President Donald Trump, prosecutors confirmed on Friday.

The man, identified as Asif Raza Merchant, was found guilty in a federal court in Brooklyn, New York, on charges related to transnational terrorism and murder-for-hire. According to an AFP report quoting prosecutors, Merchant attempted to hire a hitman to carry out the assassination of a prominent US politician or government official as retaliation for the killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani.

Soleimani, who led overseas operations for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was killed in January 2020 during a US drone strike in Baghdad ordered by the administration of then-President Trump. The strike triggered widespread tensions in the region, and Iranian leaders repeatedly pledged to avenge his death.

During the trial, prosecutors argued that Merchant had strong connections to Iran and was part of a broader effort linked to Iranian interests to target American leaders, AFP reported. They described the alleged assassination plan as resembling tactics historically associated with the Iranian government.

Court proceedings revealed that Merchant allegedly sought a contract killer to carry out the attack on US soil. While investigators said the plot involved potential targets in American politics, Merchant testified that he was never given a definitive assassination order against a specific individual.

IRGC Pressurised Merchant Into Participating In Killing Plot

In his testimony on Wednesday, Merchant claimed he had been coerced into participating in the plan. He told the court that he feared for the safety of his family living in Tehran, stating that members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards pressured him into cooperating. Merchant also said he believed authorities would apprehend him before any attack could take place.

According to testimony presented during the trial, Merchant’s alleged Iranian contact referenced three prominent US political figures while discussing the operation: President Trump, former President Joe Biden, and former US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley.

Source : https://www.freepressjournal.in/world/pakistani-man-convicted-in-us-court-over-alleged-iran-linked-plot-to-assassinate-donald-trump

U.S. President Donald Trump demanded Iran’s “unconditional surrender” on Friday, a dramatic escalation one week into the war he launched alongside Israelthat could make it more difficult to negotiate a swift end ​to hostilities.
Trump made the remarks on social media just hours after Iran’s president announced that unspecified countries had begun mediation efforts, one of the first signals of a diplomatic initiative to end the conflict, as Israel launched ‌fresh attacks on Iran and Lebanon and Iran sent missiles into Israel and Gulf states that host U.S. military bases.

“There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” Trump wrote. “After that, and the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s), we, and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before.”
Trump’s demand, and the likelihood that it would complicate any quick path to ending a conflict that has interrupted global energy supplies, rattled financial markets. European and U.S. stock indexes finished the day sharply lower, and oil futures hit ​their highest prices since 2023, as the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has constrained the flow of energy supplies.

Trump had told Reuters in a telephone interview on Thursday that he must have a say in selecting Iran’s new supreme leader to replace Ayatollah ​Ali Khamenei, killed on the war’s first day.
A White House spokeswoman said consideration was already underway.
“I know there’s a number of people that our intelligence agencies and the United States government are looking at,” Karoline Leavitt told ⁠reporters on Friday.
Iran’s U.N. ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani, told reporters on Friday that new leadership would be chosen “in accordance with our constitutional procedures and solely by the will of the Iranian people – without any foreign interference.”

ISRAEL POUNDS BEIRUT AFTER MASS EVACUATION ORDER

On the ground, Israel ​pursued a major expansion of the war in Lebanon, pounding the capital Beirut on Friday after ordering an unprecedented evacuation of the entire southern suburbs of the city.

Israel said the targets included a Beirut command centre used by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s navy unit, along with command centres that ​it said were used by the Hezbollah militant group.
There was no immediate comment from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard or Hezbollah.
Israel also launched a new wave of attacks on Iran, saying 50 of its warplanes had struck a bunker still being used by Iran’s leadership beneath Khamenei’s destroyed Tehran compound.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian posted on social media: “Some countries have begun mediation efforts.” He did not identify the countries or provide further details.
“Let’s be clear: we are committed to lasting peace in the region, but we have not the slightest hesitation in defending the dignity and authority of our country,” he wrote.

Israel has extended its bombing to Lebanon to root ​out Hezbollah, the Shi’ite militia allied to Iran that has been a dominant faction in Lebanese politics since the 1980s. Hezbollah fired on Israel this week to avenge the death of Khamenei.
“We’re sleeping here in the streets – some in cars, some on the street, some on the ​beach,” said Jamal Seifeddin, 43, who fled Beirut’s southern suburbs and spent the night on the streets in the downtown district. “No one even brought a blanket.”
Israel has intervened in Lebanon repeatedly over decades, most recently in 2024. But the ferocity of Friday’s strikes had little precedent.
About 300,000 people have been ‌displaced in Lebanon ⁠in the past four days, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council.
Inside Israel, explosions could be heard as Israeli defenses activated to shoot down incoming Iranian fire. The UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia all reported fresh drone and missile attacks.
The Israeli military says it has destroyed 80% of Iran’s air-defense systems in the first week of the campaign and disabled more than 60% of its missile launchers.
Russia is providing Iran with locations of U.S. warships and aircraft in the Middle East after Iran’s ability to locate U.S. forces was degraded, the Washington Post reported, citing three officials familiar with the intelligence.
Russian missions in the U.S. did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the report.
Meanwhile, Trump met with executives from seven defense contractors on Friday, who agreed to accelerate weapons production, the president said on social media. The administration has been pressuring ​contractors as Iran and other recent operations have drawn down supplies.
Leavitt ​said the U.S. has enough weapons stockpiles to meet the ⁠needs of its Iran operations, which she said would take about four to six weeks to complete.

‘WE’RE GOING TO HAVE TO CHOOSE THAT PERSON’, TRUMP SAYS

In insisting on the right to help choose Iran’s next leader – meant to be a senior Shi’ite Muslim cleric selected by a panel of religious experts – Trump made his most explicit demand for control over a country of more than 90 million people.
Israel has said ​openly that it aims to overthrow Iran’s ruling system. It has been bombing parts of western Iran to support Iranian Kurdish militias who hope to exploit the war to seize towns near the ​frontier, according to three sources familiar with ⁠Israel’s talks with the factions.
Iran has cast the war as an unprovoked attack and describes the killing of its leader, Khamenei, as an assassination. It says the panel that will choose the new leader is conducting its work.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/trump-urges-iranian-kurds-attack-iran-war-widens-2026-03-06/

A spokesperson for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards challenged ​U.S. President Donald Trump to deploy U.S. ‌naval vessels to escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media reported on ​Friday.
The U.S. Navy could begin escorting oil ​tankers through the Strait of Hormuz ⁠if necessary, Trump said on Tuesday. The conflict ​in the Middle East has halted shipping and ​energy exports through the vital Strait of Hormuz.

• Guards spokesperson Alimohammad Naini said: “Iran strongly welcomes the escort ​of oil tankers and that U.S. ​forces will be there for the crossing of the ‌Strait ⁠of Hormuz. And we are, by the way, awaiting their presence,” according to state media

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/irans-guards-challenges-trump-have-us-navy-escort-oil-tankers-strait-hormuz-2026-03-06/

Israel has been bombing parts of western Iran to support Iranian Kurdish militias who hope to exploit the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran to seize towns near the frontier, ​according to three sources familiar with Israel’s talks with the factions.
The notion of an offensive by Iranian Kurdish forces based in Iraq gained attention on Friday when U.S. ‌President Donald Trump told Reuters it would be “wonderful” if they crossed the border.

A Kurdish insurgency could have serious consequences for Iran as it defends itself against the air campaign. The militias have consulted with the U.S. about how and whether to attack Iran’s security forces, Reuters has reported.

ISRAELI TALKS WITH IRANIAN KURDS STRETCH BACK A YEAR

Israel has been holding its own talks with Iranian Kurdish insurgent groups based in the semi-autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan for around a year, two Iranian Kurdish sources ​said, while an Israeli source said talks had been “long-term”.
The two Iranian Kurdish sources have direct knowledge of the armed dissident groups and the source from Israel has direct knowledge of its engagement ​with them. All spoke on condition of anonymity.

Israel’s government and the Israeli military did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and Israel has not commented ⁠publicly on such engagement during the current war.
An initial goal of the Kurdish factions would be seizing Iranian territory along the border, the three sources said. One of the Kurdish sources said their aim ​was to seize the towns of Oshnavieh and Piranshahr, among others.
These sources said thousands of fighters were gathering on the Iraqi side of the border and preparing to launch an offensive within a week, something Reuters ​was not able to confirm.
Independent estimates put the militias’ combined strength at 5,000-8,000.
They possess only light arms, according to the Kurdish sources. But while they might not have the firepower to mount a significant bid for self-rule, with U.S. and Israeli help they could cause trouble on the border.

The Israeli source said Israel did not expect them to be able to overthrow their government, but that backing them could erode Iran’s control over its hinterlands and distract its Islamic Revolutionary Guard ​Corps.
Five long-standing Iranian dissident groups announced an alliance just at the end of last month.
It includes the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) and the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK), which have all participated in ​insurgencies and maintain fighters in Iraq.
It is not clear that they will get any support from their ethnic brethren in Iraq, however; Iraqi Kurdistan’s political leadership has publicly denied any plan to send fighters or get involved in Iran, ‌despite reports of ⁠outside pressure to do so.
The Israeli source cautioned that there was pushback from the Iraqi Kurds, and without their practical support it would be hard for the Iranian Kurds to mobilise. Trump’s lack of clarity on how long the war could last had also led to hesitancy.

Iran has been attacking Kurdish armed groups inside Iraq, along with U.S. bases in the area, and on Friday warned Iraqi Kurdistan that it would retaliate against any deployment of hostile forces on the frontier.

IRANIAN KURDS ‘PROVIDING TARGET INFORMATION’ FOR AIR WAR

The three sources said Kurds within Iran had been providing targeting intelligence on the border areas to the U.S. and Israel.
Israeli ​analyst Jonathan Spyer said Israel was seeking to “destroy the ​regime by any means available”.
But Danny Citrinowicz, ⁠an Iran expert and former Israeli intelligence officer, said an insurgency in Iran did not have broad support among Iraqi and Iranian Kurds:
“I think they’re all waiting to see if the regime will hold on or not.”
Turkish and Iraqi officials, neither keen to support separatism among an ethnic group spread across parts of Iraq, ​Turkey, Syria and Iran, have also expressed reservations about any insurgency in Iran.
Citrinowicz said supporting an uprising might backfire on the U.S. and Israel by ​fanning nationalism.
Israel has maintained discreet ⁠military, intelligence and business ties with various Kurdish groups since the 1960s, viewing them as a buffer against shared adversaries.
The two Kurdish sources said the factions were in closer coordination with the U.S. than with Israel, but that any cross-border offensive would require air support from both.
One of those sources said they had not yet received weapons, but would request air defence systems, drones, small arms, and artillery support.
Kurdish groups have a long history of working ⁠with the U.S., ​but recent incidents have strained ties.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-backing-iranian-kurdish-plans-seize-iran-border-areas-sources-say-2026-03-06/

The U.S. Justice Department released FBI records on Thursday that summarize interviews of an ‌unidentified woman in which she made accusations against President Donald Trump related to an alleged sexual encounter.

FBI agents interviewed the woman four times in 2019 as part of their investigation into accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. The Justice Department had previously released a log confirming that ​the interviews took place but released a summary of only one of those four meetings, in which ​she accused Epstein of molesting her when she was a teenager.

Finland plans to lift its long-standing ban on having nuclear weapons on its territory, in a move the government says would align the country more closely with Nato’s deterrence policy.

Defence minister Antti Häkkänen Finland and Europe’s security environment had “fundamentally and significantly changed” since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022.

The Nordic nation abandoned decades of military neutrality to join Nato in 2023 over mounting concerns about the threat posed by Russia.

Under Finland’s 1987 Nuclear Energy Act, the import, manufacture, possession and detonation of nuclear explosives is prohibited on Finnish soil – even during wartime.

The government proposal would change that, making it possible to “bring a nuclear weapon into Finland, or to transport, deliver or possess one in Finland, if it is connected to the military defence of Finland”, Häkkänen said.

“The amendment is necessary to enable Finland’s military defense as part of the alliance and to take full advantage of Nato’s deterrence and collective defence,” he told a news conference on Thursday.

Nato’s founding principle of collective defence – that an attack on one member nation would be treated as an attack on all – underpins the alliance’s nuclear deterrence stategy.

As it contains several nuclear powers, this means a direct attack on a member brings with it the risk of a nuclear response. US nuclear weapons are stationed in several European nations, according to the Center for Arms Control and Non-proliferation.

The Finnish government’s proposal requires changes to both the country’s Nuclear Energy Act and the criminal code.

Its governing right-wing coalition, which holds a majority in parliament, said the proposal had been circulated for consultation until 2 April before it is formally laid out.

Finland shares a 1,340km (832-mile) border with Russia – the longest of any EU or Nato member state – and its leaders have repeatedly warned that the country’s security environment had deteriorated since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Nordic nation became the 31st member of Nato in April 2023, widely seen as a strategic setback for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had long criticised the military alliance’s eastward expansion. Its neighbour Sweden joined Nato in 2024.

Since then, Nato has increased its military presence in the Arctic and Baltic Sea, as well as along the newly expanded eastern flank.

The proposal comes as European countries step up defence co-operation in response to the war in Ukraine and broader global instability.

Several Nato states suffered air traffic disruption after drones were sighted over airports and airbases last year, which some European officials attributed to “hybrid warfare” on the part of Russia.

Moscow denied involvement, but the incidents prompted renewed discussions about collective defence.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c14m5llnrlpo

Britney Spears has been arrested in California under suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

The singer was detained by California Highway Patrol (CHP) at around 21:30 local time (05:30 GMT) on Wednesday. A representative for her told the BBC: “This was an unfortunate incident that is completely inexcusable.”

Spears was reported to authorities for driving her BMW “erratically at a high rate of speed” on a motorway, CHP said. She “showed signs of impairment” and submitted to a series of field sobriety tests after she was pulled over.

She was released from jail in the early hours of Thursday morning and is due to appear at Ventura County Superior Court on 4 May.

Spears’ representative told the BBC: “Britney is going to take the right steps and comply with the law and hopefully this can be the first step in long overdue change that needs to occur in Britney’s life.

“Hopefully, she can get the help and support she needs during this difficult time.

“Her boys are going to be spending time with her. Her loved ones are going to come up with an overdue needed plan to set her up for success for well being.”

The incident is still under investigation and chemical test results are pending, CHP said.

Spears was driving alone in her black BMW 430i southbound on US-101 when officers pulled her over.

Her car was impounded after the incident, according to jail records, which also list her occupation as “celebrity”.

The BBC has learned that Spears was not admitted to hospital after the arrest, but was briefly taken to a medical facility by law enforcement for the purpose of administering blood tests, in accordance with drink-driving protocol in the state.

The pop star appeared to have deleted her Instagram account on Thursday as news of her arrest broke.

Spears is one of the most successful pop stars ever, with hits such as Baby One More Time, Toxic, Everytime, Gimme More, Womanizer, and Stronger.

The singer said in January 2024 that she would “never return to the music industry”. Her last song was a duet with Elton John in 2022.

However, in a since-deleted social media post from earlier this year, Spears indicated that, although she would not perform in the US again, she was hoping to play live in the UK and Australia in the near future.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gjjn41l7no

US President Donald Trump has lashed out against Spain after it condemned US attacks on Iran. Will both countries break off ties?

When Donald Trump received Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House on Tuesday evening, the US president unleashed a tirade against Spain. He told reporters in the room that “Spain has been terrible,” and that “we’re going to cut off all trade” with the EU country.

The reason is that Spain has opposed strikes on Iran from the very beginning and has expressed this view with greater vehemence than other any other European country.

While Merz referred to US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran as a legal “dilemma,” Spanish Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez condemned the attacks as a massive breach of international law. His government then banned the US from using the two jointly operated military bases in Andalusia, southern Spain, to wage war on Iran.

Sanchez published a video message not long after Trump’s outburst doubling down on his anti-war stance, telling viewers that “we say no to the violation of international law, which protects us all, especially civilians.”

He added that anyone who acts like the US plays “Russian roulette with the fate of millions of people.”

Spanish PM has public’s backing

The prime minister’s strong words seem to have struck a chord with many of his compatriots.

“I think our government is only being consistent in its foreign policy — we should not simply submit to the US,” Gladys Gbegnedji, a project manager from Madrid, told DW.

Francisco Huesa, a teacher from Sevilla, similarly supports his government. He told DW he does not fear negative consequences that could result from this falling out.

“How can it be that European countries that call themselves democratic simply support attacks that violate international law?” Huesa asked in an interview with DW.

He also expressed great disappointment with Germany’s role in the current conflict.

Huesa and many other Spaniards who watched Trump’s tirade could not help noticing that his guest, Chancellor Merz, did not speak up to defend Spain at any point. On the contrary: Merz assured Trump that Spain would be persuaded to provide more funds for NATOin the future. It was only after the meeting that Merz told journalists the European Union would react to any punitive US measures against Spain.

This prompted Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares to criticize the German leader, saying: “While we have been in government, we have seen three German chancellors: Merkel, Scholz and now Merz — and under Merkel and Scholz, there was a distinctly pro-European spirit.”

Will the war create a rift in Europe?

While Spanish political scientist Rafael Calduch Cervera is concerned that the Iran war is deepening divisions within the European Union, he is also critical of Prime Minister Sanchez. The Spanish leader, Cervera says, finds himself under domestic pressure from his left-wing coalition partners, which is why he now resorts to such outspoken foreign policy rhetoric. Cervera says this rhetoric is really aimed at the Spanish populace back home, but has also needlessly maneuvered Spain into an awkward place on the global stage.

Cervera does not foresee a severing of economic ties between Spain and the US, despite Trump’s threats.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/iran-war-strains-us-spain-relations/a-76234578

After weeks of uncertainty, football’s governing body in Africa has announced the postponement of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, which had been slated to start in mid-March.

The ​Confederation of African Football (CAF) released a statement on its website on Thursday announcing that the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) would not kick off in Morocco on March 17 as planned. Instead, it is to be moved to the summer.

“After discussions between CAF and its partners, ​FIFA and other stakeholders, CAF decided to reschedule the dates of the TotalEnergies CAF WAFCON 2026, to 25 July – 16 August ​2026 to ensure the success of this important women’s competition,” the statement read.

CAF failed to give a reason for the move, referring only to “certain unforeseen circumstances.”

At the same time it sought to strike a positive note, saying: “Preparations for ​the TotalEnergies CAF WAFCON 2026 are underway and all the parties are confident that it will be ​very successful.”

The announcement comes almost three weeks after CAF President Patrice Motsepe had ruled out any change to the schedule, as the tournament also doubles as a qualifying event for the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/football-womens-afcon-postponed-at-11th-hour/a-76234954

Nepal is gearing up for parliamentary elections, months after a youth-led uprising forced out the previous government.

Liza Adhikari, a 20-year-old student, carries the wounds of the “revolution” in her left shoulder.

Every day, she goes to physiotherapy to regain movement after a bullet shattered the top of the bone in her upper arm. She was shot on September 8, 2025 — the day when Nepal’s Gen Z movement faced a deadly crackdown for trying to reshape the country’s political arena.

“I wasn’t pelting stones. I was arranging water for people around me, and blinded by tear gas when the police opened fire,” Adhikari told DW.

The youth-led demonstrations, fueled by popular anger against Nepal’s ruling class over rampant corruption and unemployment, forced then Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli to resign.

President Ram Chandra Paudel later dissolved the parliament and appointed an interim government, tasked with conducting early elections.

Youth hope for genuine reforms

Nearly 19 million voters in the landlocked Himalayan nation have registered to cast their ballots in the elections scheduled for this week.

They will elect 275 members of the House of Representatives, the lower house of Parliament — 165 directly, with a further 110 chosen via proportional representation from the lists prepared by political parties.

Adhikari said she is now waiting to see whether her sacrifice will bring the “change she fought for.”

She is convinced that the nation’s youth did not come onto the streets last year to topple the government, but to raise their voices against corruption and to call for good governance.

The young student believes that genuine reform of the political system and culture is essential.

“If young people reach Parliament and raise their voices, the impact of the movement may be seen. But if the old parties return to power, and nothing changes, our struggle will be gone in vain,” she said.

Adhikari belongs to the generation that paid the biggest price to reset the system.

According to Amnesty International, the mass anti-government demonstrations last year left 76 young people dead and over 2,000 wounded.

Very few Gen Z candidates for elections

Despite being the driving force behind last year’s mass protests, very few members of Gen Z — the people born roughly between 1997 and 2012 — have stepped forward to contest the elections.

This age group makes up only about 5% of all candidates.

Experts point to structural barriers, including a political culture that favors seniority and often views younger aspirants as “inexperienced” in matters of leadership.

There is also a huge legal barrier — Nepal’s constitution bars anyone under 25 from running for Parliament. On top of that, young people are required to pay money in order to compete, with the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), an alliance of new and alternative forces, setting an application fee of 50,000 Nepali rupees ($375, €323) for those seeking nomination under the proportional representation list.

Majid Ansari, a youth activist and law student, said such costs are out of reach for many young aspirants. “Most Gen Z activists saved their pocket money to join the demonstrations and events that followed. For them, the amount was huge,” he noted.

Ansari added that some young people who had announced independent candidacies later stepped back because of financial constraints.

Taking Gen Z issues to Parliament

Funding issues, however, go beyond the high participation fees.

“In a system where the Election Commission lacks the power to regulate party funding, parties systematically favor middlemen, traders, and wealthy contractors as candidates, who can cover their own costs and support the party financially,” political analyst Krishna Pokharel explained.

Manish Khanal, a 26-year-old RSP candidate in Nawalpur-2 constituency, is attempting to break the cycle of high-cost electoral campaigns.

Khanal said he is relying on donations, volunteers, free printing and transportation, which he calls “social capital.” He also stressed that he is not distributing money, food or other material incentives aimed at influencing the voters.

The candidate said keeping campaigns low-cost helps set an example of transparency and accountability.

At the same time, his party has faced criticism over senior leaders using expensive cars and maintaining ties to wealthy businesspeople.

Khanal is one of 12 Gen Z candidates from the RSP. He says the relatively new party aligns with his political beliefs.

Others chose established parties to take Gen Z issues to parliament.

Ajay Kushwaha, 27, is contesting from Nepal’s Bara district for the Nepal Communist Party.

“We have gained space we did not have before. This is also a chance to reform party culture and raise Gen Z issues in parliament in an organized way,” he said.

Some avoid party politics — for now

But some prominent youth leaders refuse to enter party politics.

Rakshya Bam, who played an active role in the protests and the formation of the interim government, decided to stay out of the process.

“Our rebellion was against old political tendencies. I did not see a clear roadmap in the new, alternative forces either. So, I chose to stay on the streets and demand accountability and transparency,” she said.

Ansari also said he prefers to remain part of what he called a “permanent opposition.”

“Politics is also a numbers game, especially during elections. And we are weak in terms of numbers. We did not want to jump in at once, fall into that trap, and become irrelevant,” he underlined.

Some believe not contesting the polls this time round gives them a chance to step back and prepare for a political life. “Once you join politics, it becomes hard to live a personal life with integrity, as it can shrink you to almost nothing. I must prepare myself to stand that test,” Bam said.

Strengthening youth political participation

Analyst Pokharel believes the Gen Z movement challenged the narrative that young people lack political interest. “It showed that political consciousness among the youth is strong,” he said.

“They may hold different political ideologies, but their frustration with the way the country is governed, their dissatisfaction with the state, the lack of good governance and weak service delivery are shared,” he added.

For those who played a key role in the movement and paid a heavy price, the issue is not just political, but also deeply personal.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/nepal-elections-gen-z-hopes-for-genuine-political-reforms/a-76200486

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will wrap up his Asia-Pacific tour with talks in Tokyo aimed at deepening economic and security cooperation.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to arrive in Japan on Friday (Mar 6) for the last stop of his three-nation Asia-Pacific tour that also took him to India and Australia.

The trip is part of Ottawa’s broader effort to diversify trade and strengthen partnerships across the Indo-Pacific, reducing reliance on the United States as global competition intensifies.

In Tokyo, he is set to meet Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi for talks aimed at deepening cooperation in key economic sectors and on security and defence, including support for a free and open Indo-Pacific.

Carney has framed the trip as part of a broader effort to bring together so-called “middle powers” at a time of growing rivalry between larger states.

The visit follows the message he delivered at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, where he said: “In a world of great power rivalry, the countries in between have a choice: compete with each other for favour or to combine to create a third path with impact.”

He has urged countries that are not superpowers but wield significant economic or diplomatic influence to work together to bolster global stability and uphold shared values and Japan is central to that vision.

Kei Koga, associate professor at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, said: “Japan has the economic capabilities, and a strong diplomatic presence in the Pacific. And they (Canada and Japan) share the same kind of values … such as democracy and human rights.”

A SOLID FOUNDATION

Canada and Japan have long-standing economic ties underpinned by robust trade and investment.

Japan is Canada’s fourth-largest foreign investor after the US, the United Kingdom and China, and its fifth-largest trading partner by product volume, according to official data.

Tokyo’s key exports to Canada include cars, machinery and medical equipment, while Ottawa exports canola, wheat, beef, pork, minerals and, increasingly, energy to Japan.

Last year, Tokyo began importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Ottawa to diversify its energy supply.

Mitsubishi Corporation, one of Japan’s largest trading houses, holds a 15 per cent stake in the C$40 billion (US$29 billion) LNG Canada project in British Columbia.

“What concerns the people most in Japan currently is cost of living and inflation,” said Tomoo Kikuchi, professor at Waseda University, noting that reliable access to natural resources underpins production and prices.

“Because of what’s happening now in (the) Middle East, I think it’s important for Japan that it has other sources of imports of LNG and oil,” he added.

SECURITY COOPERATION

Both countries are also strengthening their security ties amid rising regional tensions.

Under Canada’s Indo-Pacific strategy, Ottawa has joined maritime security exercises in Asian waters and signed defence technology transfer and information-sharing agreements with Tokyo.

But some commentators describe Canada’s engagement as piecemeal and ad hoc.

“Canada is a member of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), and their security perspective could be shifting to the European side,” noted Koga.

“So in that sense, it would be difficult to understand to what extent Canada could actually commit militarily to the Indo-Pacific in the future.”

BALANCE OF POWER

Canada and Japan both face pressures from larger powers – especially the United States and China.

They have long been caught in what analysts call the “Washington distraction”, forced to react to shifts in US trade and security policy. Both countries have faced US tariffs, along with pressure from Washington to increase defence spending.

At the same time, Canada has stepped up selective engagement with China in certain economic areas as it seeks to reduce reliance on the US, while Japan continues to manage tensions with Beijing, including over Taiwan and regional security.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/canada-japan-mark-carney-visit-strengthen-cooperation-5975466

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he has ordered expert support after receiving a request from the US to help counter Iranian drones.

The United States asked Ukraine for help to fend off Iranian drone attacks in the Middle East, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday (Mar 5), adding that he had ordered expert support to be given.

During Russia’s four-year invasion, Kyiv has developed a range of cheap and effective drone interceptors – aerial craft designed to hit incoming attack drones mid-air – that it says are world-leading.

Zelenskyy on Tuesday offered US allies in the Middle East a swap of some of their air defence missiles in exchange for those interceptors, which he said would better protect them from Iranian drone attacks.

“We received a request from the United States for specific support in protection against ‘shaheds’ in the Middle East region,” Zelenskyy confirmed on X on Thursday, referring to the Iranian-designed drones also used by Russia.

Ukraine has been facing a near-daily pummelling with such drones, launched from Russia and targeting residential areas and civilian infrastructure, including its energy sites.

“I gave instructions to provide the necessary means and ensure the presence of Ukrainian specialists who can guarantee the required security,” he added.

Despite Washington’s plea, US President Donald Trump on Thursday accused Zelenskyy of stalling his peace-making efforts in Ukraine, returning to the language he used during their tense White House meeting a year ago.

“Zelenskyy, he has to get on the ball, and he has to get a deal done,” Trump said in an interview with Politico.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/us-ukraine-zekenskyy-trump-iran-israel-drone-5975011

Lisa Rinna didn’t shy away from naming her former “Celebrity Apprentice” co-stars Dionne Warwick and Star Jones as the rudest celebrities she’s ever worked with.

In fact, the “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” alum, 62, labeled Warwick as a “nasty piece of work” in her new memoir, “You Better Believe I’m Gonna Talk About It.”

“The first time I met her on a create-your-own pizza task, she barely looked at me but had the audacity to bark, ‘Go get me a Pepsi!’” Rinna recalled in the book.

“And for some reason, I ran off like a simp to get Dionne Warwick a Pepsi. She thanked me by conspiring with her coven to get me canned,” Rinna continued, referencing her early departure from Season 4 of the reality series.

Rinna was “fired” from the show after she claimed Jones “threw her under the f–king bus” in Episode 2.

Looking back on the moment in her book, Rinna reflected that she “couldn’t trust any of the women” on “The Celebrity Apprentice.”

She also thanked Jones for “being such a twat, because her viciousness prepared me for my future as a Beverly Hills Housewife.”

“I’m not sure I’d ever experienced woman-on-woman hate crimes before that,” she added.

Reps for Warwick and Jones did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.

Last Thursday, the Bravolebrity dished about her time as a star on “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” exclusively telling Page Six Radio that she felt her time on the series cast “a black cloud” over her family.

“I think there was a bit of a black cloud over me for a while. And I think that can affect the entire family dynamic,” said Rinna, who is mom to daughters Amelia and Delilah Belle Hamlin — both of whom she shares with her husband, Harry Hamlin.

“Once I got myself out of that situation, the cloud lifted for all of us. I really believe that,” she continued, adding that she doesn’t “have to be a ‘Housewife’ anymore.”

Rinna joined the Bravo show for Season 5 in 2014 and announced her departure from the show after Season 12 in 2023.

While her time came to a close years ago, absence hasn’t made Rinna’s heart grow fonder for some of her former “RHOBH” co-stars.

She called out Garcelle Beauvais for being “fake from head to toe” and a “huge disappointment,” and labeled her former friends Sutton Stracke and Denise Richards as “narcissists.”

Source : https://pagesix.com/2026/03/05/celebrity-news/lisa-rinna-exposes-rudest-celebrities-shes-ever-worked-with/

Donald Trump acknowledged that Khamenei’s son was the likely successor, but called this outcome unacceptable and demanded to be personally involved in the selection.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday said he needs to be personally involved in selecting Iran’s next leader – just like he was in Venezuela – after joint US-Israeli strikes on February 28 killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Trump acknowledged that Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Khamenei, is the most likely successor, but made it clear that he finds the outcome unacceptable. “They are wasting their time. Khamenei’s son is a lightweight. I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy [Rodriguez] in Venezuela,” he said.

Trump also emphasised that he refuses to accept a new Iranian leader who would continue Khamenei’s policies, which he said would force the US back to war “in five years.”

“Khamenei’s son is unacceptable to me. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran,” he told Axios. His remarks came after Israel attacked the Iranian building in Qom housing the clerical body responsible for selecting Iran’s next supreme leader on Tuesday.

Khamenei was assassinated on February 28 in joint US-Israeli air strikes on Tehran. Following his death, Iran’s Assembly of Experts has elected Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the country’s new supreme leader, according to several reports.

Mojtaba Khamenei is the second son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. A mid-ranking cleric and behind-the-scenes power broker, he managed his father’s office, maintained close IRGC ties from the Iran-Iraq War era, and influenced security and military coordination without holding formal public roles.

Khamenei’s body was due to lie in state in a Tehran prayer hall from Wednesday evening to launch three days of mourning. However, the memorial – expected to draw many thousands ​of mourners to the streets – was abruptly and indefinitely postponed shortly before it was due to begin.

Announcing the younger Khamenei as successor during a mourning period would allow him to take power ​while his father’s followers were on the streets, rallying support and making it more difficult for any opponents to mount a challenge. Israel has said it would consider any replacement for Khamenei, who continued hostile policies, an immediate target to be killed.

Source : https://www.news18.com/world/theyre-wasting-their-time-trump-says-he-must-be-involved-in-picking-irans-next-leader-ws-l-9944822.html

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake met senior government and security leaders to discuss Iran’s request for the warship to enter Sri Lanka’s waters for safety.

Sri Lankan officials have expressed concern as a second Iranian warship moved towards the country’s territorial waters on Thursday, a day after a United States submarine destroyed an Iranian frigate, killing at least 87 sailors. Authorities fear the new vessel could also become a target following the earlier attack.

The development comes as the conflict triggered by joint US-Israel strikes on Iran continues to expand beyond the Middle East.

Iran seeks entry into Sri Lankan waters

According to officials quoted by AFP, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake met senior government and security leaders to discuss Iran’s request for the warship to enter Sri Lanka’s waters for safety.

Media Minister Nalinda Jayatissa told parliament that the vessel was positioned just outside Sri Lankan territorial waters but did not provide further operational details. Officials said the ship was carrying more than 100 crew members, raising fears for their safety.

Aftermath of the frigate sinking

Preparations were under way in the southern port city of Galle to hand over the remains of 87 Iranian sailors killed in the torpedo attack claimed by the US military. The warship had sunk about 40 kilometres south of Galle after issuing a distress call early on Wednesday.

Sri Lankan navy spokesman Buddhika Sampath said naval vessels were continuing search operations for missing sailors. By the time rescuers reached the site, the vessel had already sunk.

Survivors under tight security

Hospital authorities in Galle confirmed that 32 rescued Iranian sailors were still receiving treatment under strict security provided by police and elite commandos. A separate ward was set up for the injured crew.

A nurse said most survivors had minor injuries, though some suffered fractures and burns.

The destroyed warship had been returning home after participating in a military exercise held in India’s eastern port of Visakhapatnam.

Iran has not yet officially commented on the sinking.

Source : https://www.news18.com/world/could-be-targeted-officials-express-concern-as-2nd-iranian-ship-heads-to-sri-lanka-after-attack-9943692.html

Mandana Karimi has made a controversial statement about Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei’s death in the US-Israel-Iran war during an exclusive interaction with Zoom. She confessed that she is happy with Khamenei’s death. Read full story here.

The war between the US, Israel and Iran has become the most heated topic of discussion on social media. In the US and Israel’s strike on Iran, the supreme leader of the country, Ali Khamenei, died with his family members. After his demise, many Shia Muslims from several countries staged protests and expressed grief. However, some people celebrated his death. Recently, half-Indian, half-Iranian actress Mandana Karimi had an exclusive interaction with Zoom where she confessed that she and many women are happy with Khamenei’s death. She wants him to b*rn in hell.

U.S. military investigators believe it is likely that U.S. forces were responsible for an apparent strike on an Iranian girls’ school that killed scores of children on Saturday but have not yet reached a final conclusion or completed ​their investigation, two U.S. officials told Reuters.
Reuters was unable to determine more details about the investigation, including what evidence ‌contributed to the tentative assessment, what type of munition was used, who was responsible or why the U.S. might have struck the school.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday acknowledged the U.S. military was investigating the incident.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters, did not rule out ​the possibility that new evidence could emerge that absolves the U.S. of responsibility and points to another responsible party in ​the incident.
Reuters could not determine how much longer the investigation would last or what evidence U.S. investigators are ⁠seeking before the assessment can be completed.
The girls’ school in Minab, in southern Iran, was hit on Saturday during the first day ​of U.S. and Israeli attacks on the country. Iran’s ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, Ali Bahreini, said the strike killed 150 students. Reuters ​could not independently confirm the death toll.

The Pentagon referred questions from Reuters to the U.S. military’s Central Command, whose spokesperson, Captain Timothy Hawkins, said: “It would be inappropriate to comment given the incident is under investigation.”
The White House did not directly comment on the investigation, but press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement ​to Reuters, “While the Department of War is currently investigating this matter, the Iranian regime targets civilians and children, not the United States ​of America.”
Asked about the incident during a news briefing on Wednesday, Hegseth said: “We’re investigating that. We, of course, never target civilian targets. But we’re taking a ‌look and ⁠investigating that.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Monday that the United States would not deliberately target a school.

“The Department of War would be investigating that if that was our strike, and I would refer your question to them,” Rubio said.
Israeli and U.S. forces have until now divided their attacks in Iran both geographically and by target type, a senior Israeli official and a source with direct ​knowledge of the joint planning said. ​While Israel was striking missile ⁠launch sites in western Iran, the United States was attacking such targets, as well as naval ones, in the south.
The U.N. human rights office, without saying who it believed was responsible for the strike on ​the school, called on Tuesday for an investigation.
“The onus is on the forces that carried out ​the attack to investigate ⁠it,” U.N. human rights office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani told a press briefing in Geneva.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-investigation-points-likely-us-responsibility-iran-school-strike-sources-say-2026-03-06/

China is in talks with Iran to allow crude oil and Qatari liquefied natural gas vessels safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz ​as the U.S.-Israeli war on Tehran intensifies, three diplomatic sources told Reuters.
The war, ‌which entered its sixth day on Thursday, has left the critical shipping passageway all-but shut, with countries around the world cut off from a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.

China, which has friendly ​relations with Iran and relies heavily on Middle Eastern supplies, is unhappy about the ​Islamic Republic’s move to paralyse shipping through the Strait and is pressing Tehran ⁠to allow safe passage for the vessels, according to the sources.
The world’s second-largest economy gets ​about 45% of its oil from the Strait.
Ship tracking data showed a vessel called the Iron ​Maiden passed through the Strait overnight after changing its signalling to ‘China-owner,’ but far more sailings will be needed to calm global markets.
Crude oil prices are up more than 15% since the conflict began amid production stoppages ​as Tehran attacks energy facilities in the Gulf as well as ships crossing the Strait.

Its ​missiles have also reached as far afield as Cyprus, Azerbaijan and Turkey, destabilising global markets and prompting major ‌economies to ⁠warn about inflation risks.
Crude tanker transits through the strait fell to four vessels on March 1, the day after hostilities broke out, versus an average of 24 a day since January, Vortexa vessel-tracking data showed.
Around 300 oil tankers remain inside the Strait, according to Vortexa and ship tracker ​Kpler.
Sugar industry veteran Mike ​McDougall told Reuters that ⁠Middle East sugar executives say there are some ships transiting the Strait at the moment, all of which are either Chinese or Iranian-owned.
Jamal ​Al-Ghurair, the managing director of Dubai-based Al Khaleej Sugar, told Reuters some ​ships carrying ⁠sugar are currently allowed to pass through the Strait while others are not, without giving further details.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/china-talks-with-iran-allow-safe-oil-gas-passage-through-hormuz-sources-say-2026-03-05/

Hezbollah has deployed elite fighters to confront Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, sending them back into the border ​region from which they withdrew after a war in 2024, three Lebanese sources familiar with the deployments said, as the ‌Iran-backed group wades deeper into the conflict in the Middle East.
Members of Hezbollah’s Radwan force had received orders to join the battle and block advances by Israeli tanks, the sources said, citing the town of Khiyam – one of several areas where Israeli troops reportedly advanced on Wednesday – as an example.

Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shi’ite Muslim group established by Iran’s ​Revolutionary Guards in 1982, entered the war on Monday, opening fire to avenge the death of Iran’s supreme leader, who was killed in ​a surprise U.S.-Israeli attack on Tehran.
Israel has carried out heavy strikes in southern Lebanon and more widely since then, sending ⁠more troops over the border, and ordering Lebanese to leave a swathe of territory in the frontier region, where the Israeli military had kept soldiers ​at several positions since the 2024 war.
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said in a televised speech on Wednesday that the group would confront what he described ​as an Israeli plan of “occupation and expansion”.

“For us, this is an existential defence,” he said.
The Hezbollah elite fighters deployed to the south after the group opened fire with rockets and drones on Monday, according to the sources, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic.
They had left that part of Lebanon – specifically ​the area between the Litani River and the border with Israel – after a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in the 2024 war, moving north of the river, ​the sources said.
The sources did not say how many elite forces had been deployed.
Hezbollah’s opening salvo on Monday was fired from north of the Litani River, Lebanese President ‌Joseph Aoun ⁠has said.

THOUSANDS OF HEZBOLLAH FIGHTERS KILLED IN 2024

An Israeli military spokesperson said they were checking but didn’t immediately provide comment on the sources’ accounts. The Lebanese army declined to comment. The office of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Israeli military said on Wednesday two soldiers were wounded as a result of anti-tank fire against troops in southern Lebanon, the first reported injuries among Israeli forces since the start ​of the regional war.
Hezbollah has announced ​several attacks targeting Israeli tanks ⁠this week, along with numerous rocket and drone launches targeting Israel.
An Israeli military spokesperson said on Wednesday the military was “positioning troops a little farther” into Lebanon than before, “to prevent any attacks against the northern communities” in Israel.
In ​May, 2023, before the Hamas-led October 7 attack on Israel triggered a region-wide conflict, Hezbollah invited media to ​watch Radwan fighters ⁠simulate an invasion of Israel.
Some 5,000 Hezbollah fighters were killed in the 2024 war with Israel, many of them members of the Radwan force. The war left Hezbollah severely weakened.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/hezbollah-elite-fighters-return-south-lebanon-fight-israeli-troops-lebanese-2026-03-05/

U.S. President Donald Trump fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday after months of controversy, including the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal officers in Minneapolis and lawmakers’ questions over a $220 million ​advertising contract.
The Republican president will tap Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin to replace her by the end of the month, he said on his Truth Social platform on Thursday. The appointment would ‌require U.S. Senate confirmation.

Noem, a former governor of South Dakota, became one of Trump’s most high-profile Cabinet secretaries with social media posts that portrayed immigrants in harsh terms, highlighted alleged criminal offences and used vitriolic language.
Her departure, after emerging as the face of an aggressive immigration crackdown that had grown unpopular according to recent polling, could allow Trump to reset his approach on immigration policy, a centerpiece of his agenda.
Shortly after Trump announced Noem’s replacement, she posted on X: “We have made historic accomplishments at the Department of Homeland Security to ​make America safe again.”

During congressional hearings this week, Democrats and some Republicans criticized Noem for her approach to immigration enforcement and management of her department, including concern over a $220 million advertising campaign that featured Noem ​heavily and had been awarded to two longtime Republican operatives without a standard bidding process.
Noem’s personal life also came under scrutiny, with a Democratic lawmaker on Wednesday asking ⁠whether she had a sexual relationship with top aide Corey Lewandowski. Both are married.
Noem called the question from U.S. Representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove “tabloid garbage.” Lewandowski did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Trump told Reuters on Thursday that ​he did not sign off on the ad campaign, which prominently featured Noem and included a scene of her on horseback at Mount Rushmore, in her home state of South Dakota.

In one congressional hearing this week, Noem told Republican ​U.S. Senator John Kennedy that Trump had approved the ad campaign.

FIRST SENATE-CONFIRMED CABINET MEMBER FIRED IN TRUMP 2.0

Noem is the first Senate-confirmed member of Trump’s Cabinet to be removed this term. In Trump’s 2017-2021 term in office, 14 confirmed Cabinet appointees, who serve in the line of succession to the presidency, quit or were fired.
Noem faced criticism in January when she quickly accused two U.S. citizens fatally shot by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis of “domestic terrorism.” Videos that emerged after the deaths undercut the assertion by Noem and other ​Trump officials that the two deceased – Renee Good and Alex Pretti – were violent aggressors.
The public backlash over the deaths led the Trump administration to adopt a more targeted approach on immigration enforcement in Minnesota, after months of sweeps through ​U.S. cities that sparked violent clashes between federal agents and residents who opposed the crackdown.
Two Trump administration officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a personnel matter, said the fallout over the fatal shootings, the $220 million contract, the mismanagement of DHS ‌and the allegations ⁠of the affair all contributed to her firing.

Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives moved to impeach Noem, and at least two Republicans in Congress called for her to lose her job after the shootings in Minnesota.
Trump said on Truth Social that Noem would be appointed envoy to a planned summit in Miami to reinforce his Western Hemisphere policies.
Within minutes of Trump’s post about her replacement, Noem spoke at a law enforcement event in Tennessee for 40 minutes but did not mention her departure.
Noem was aware she would be removed before she spoke at the event, one of the officials and another person familiar with the matter said, both of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity.
They added ​that Lewandowski was also expected to leave the department. DHS ​and the White House did not immediately comment ⁠when asked about Lewandowski’s future.

STRONG EMBRACE OF TRUMP’S HARDLINE IMMIGRATION APPROACH

Mullin, who spent a decade in the House of Representatives before becoming a senator in 2023, also supports Trump’s hardline immigration agenda.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Mullin said he had not been expecting the call from Trump. He described Noem as a friend and said he had not ​had a chance to call her yet.
“She was tasked to do a very difficult job,” Mullin told reporters.
Democrats in Congress have blocked funding for DHS since mid-February, saying ​federal immigration enforcement must be reformed.
Senate ⁠Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Noem’s firing would not be enough to break the stalemate.
“The problems at ICE transcend any one person,” he told reporters. “The president has to end the violence and rein in ICE.”
Trump’s immigration approach lost popularity as agents detained U.S. citizens and tear-gassed streets in an attempt to drive up deportations, which last year fell short of the administration’s goal of 1 million per year.
While Noem, 54, served as a prominent proponent of Trump’s agenda, White House Deputy Chief of Staff ⁠Stephen Miller, a ​longtime Trump aide, controls Trump’s immigration policy.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-taps-us-senator-mullin-replace-noem-dhs-chief-2026-03-05/

The United States and interim authorities ​in Venezuela have agreed to re-establish diplomatic and consular ‌relations, the U.S. State Department said on Thursday, aiming to foster a peaceful transition to elect a new government in the ​South American country.
“This step will facilitate our joint ​efforts to promote stability, support economic recovery, and advance ⁠political reconciliation in Venezuela,” the State Department said in ​a statement.

“Our engagement is focused on helping the Venezuelan ​people move forward through a phased process that creates the conditions for a peaceful transition to a democratically elected government.”
After months of ​heightened tensions, the U.S. captured Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro ​in January, setting off a chain of changes in the country, ‌including ⁠the swearing-in of interim President Delcy Rodriguez.
The two countries have since gradually resumed bilateral relations, after Rodriguez’s interim government expressed interest in rebuilding ties with Washington with diplomatic missions in ​both countries following ​Maduro’s capture.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/us-venezuela-agree-re-establish-diplomatic-consular-relations-2026-03-05/

Amazon on Tuesday confirmed it laid off staff across its robotics unit, with at least 100 white-collar jobs affected, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Amazon on Tuesday confirmed it laid off staff across its robotics unit, with at least 100 white-collar jobs affected, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

This comes after a January cut of about 16,000 jobs with the company at the time hinting layoffs would continue.

The division axed on Tuesday is responsible for designing robots and other conveyances for automation, primarily in warehouses.

“We regularly review our organizations to make sure teams are best set up to innovate and deliver for our customers,” Amazon said in the statement, without specifying the number of jobs cut. Business Insider earlier reported the robotics cuts.

Starting with a round of some 14,000 white-collar employees in October, Amazon has trimmed 30,000 corporate employees, tying them to efficiency gains from artificial intelligence, as well as revising company culture. The layoffs represented nearly 10% of white-collar workers, though the bulk of Amazon’s 1.5 million workers are hourly staff, particularly in warehouses known as fulfillment centers.

The latest job cuts come after Amazon in January halted development of a robotic arm known as Blue Jay that it demonstrated at an event in October. Blue Jay featured multiple robotic arms that could grab several items at once and was designed to help workers in smaller spaces.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/amazon-cuts-more-jobs-this-time-in-robotics-unit-11169850

US President Donald Trump is using a preventative treatment for a red rash on his neck, according to his physician, but the White House declined on Wednesday to share further details about the condition.

US President Donald Trump is using a preventative treatment for a red rash on his neck, according to his physician, but the White House declined on Wednesday to share further details about the condition.

A red, blotchy rash was visible on the right side of Trump’s neck just above the collar line in photographs from his appearance at a Medal of Honor ceremony on Monday.

In a statement after the event, Dr. Sean Barbabella, the White House physician, said Trump was using a common cream as “a preventative skin treatment.”

“The President is using this treatment for one week, and the redness is expected to last for a few weeks,” Barbabella said.

Asked on Wednesday about why the treatment was necessary, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters she had no additional information to share beyond the details provided in the physician’s statement.

Trump’s health, at age 79, has been more of a focus in his second term, as bruises on his hands and swelling in his legs have been visible at times.

In January, Trump attributed the hand bruising to his frequent use of aspirin, and the White House said the president hit his hand on a table when traveling abroad.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/white-house-says-trump-using-preventative-skin-treatment-for-neck-rash-11169859

A member of Japan’s yakuza crime group was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a New York court on Tuesday (Mar 3) after being convicted of trafficking nuclear material as well as drugs and weapons.

Takeshi Ebisawa, 61, has been jailed since April 2022 on drug and weapons charges, along with his Thai co-defendant Somphop Singhasiri, following years of investigations by the US Drug Enforcement Administration.

In February 2024, he was also accused of trying to sell military-grade nuclear material, along with narcotics including heroin and methamphetamine, to buy weapons, including surface-to-air missiles, for armed groups in Myanmar.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/us-court-convicts-japanese-yakuza-trafficking-nuclear-material-5968956

“We’re in a very strong position now, and their (Iran’s) leadership is just rapidly going,” said US President Donald Trump.

United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday (Mar 4) rated the US performance in the war with Iran as a 15 on a scale of 10, saying the Islamic Republic’s leaders were rapidly being killed, and vowing to push on.

Trump’s comments came as the conflict expanded on its fifth day, with a US submarine sinking an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka and fresh blasts across the Middle East.

“We’re doing well on the war front, to put it mildly. Somebody said on a scale of 10, where would you rate it? I said about a 15,” Trump told a gathering of tech bosses at the White House.

“We’re in a very strong position now, and their leadership is just rapidly going. Everybody that seems to want to be a leader, they end up dead.”

Trump added that Tehran’s arsenal of ballistic missiles was being “wiped out rapidly”.

He repeated his justifications for attacking Iran, saying Tehran was on its way to obtaining a nuclear weapon.

“When crazy people have nuclear weapons, bad things happen,” Trump added.

The US leader pledged that he would “continue forward” with the joint air campaign with Israel that has already slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on its opening day on Saturday.

Trump’s administration has faced criticism after days of mixed messages about the rationale for the war, given the president’s previous campaign boasts about starting “no new wars”.

“PAYING IN BLOOD”

He has yet to spell out his plan for what happens after the war or to say whether he wants a wholesale change in Iran’s government, or to work with remnants who would deal with Washington.

Trump has pursued a policy of working with figures from the Venezuelan government following the US toppling of Nicolas Maduro in January – and making a deal to extract Venezuelan oil.

The White House said on Wednesday that Iran’s clerical government was being “absolutely crushed” and was “paying in blood” – but declined to confirm Trump wanted regime change in Tehran.

But Trump is “actively considering” a US role in Iran after the American-Israeli operation against the country concludes, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

“I think it’s something the president is actively considering and discussing with his advisors and his national security team,” Leavitt told a briefing.

Leavitt also rejected as “false” reports that Trump had agreed to arm Kurdish separatist militia in Iran so that they could rise up against the government.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/trump-rates-us-war-iran-leaders-killed-5972046

Two people suffered serious burns and were receiving medical treatment. Authorities said there were reports that a third person might still be inside the structure.

An explosion at an industrial site in Logan Township, New Jersey, on Wednesday prompted authorities to issue a shelter-in-place order for residents and businesses within a two-mile radius of Heron Drive and High Hill Road. Officials said the order was issued after a building explosion at the Pureland Industrial Complex. Early reports suggested the blast may have occurred at Savita Naturals, a company based at the site.

NBC10 Philadelphia reported that at least four people were injured in the explosion. Social media images showed thick smoke rising above the warehouse district as emergency crews responded.

In a post on X, one account said: “At this time numerous emergency crews are on the scene in Logan Township, New Jersey, after a massive explosion was reported at the Pureland Industrial Complex. Authorities have issued a shelter-in-place order for a 2-mile radius as first responders work the scene. Early reports indicate two people have suffered severe burns, and one individual may still be trapped inside the facility.”

A local resident wrote: “Building in Pureland warehouse district blew up. Either Omega Engineering or Savita Naturals (they do extraction for CBD). Happened right behind my warehouse.”

Savita Naturals describes itself as a CBD extraction facility. On its official LinkedIn page, the company says it uses butane, propane and ethanol in its processes.

Witnesses described feeling the force of the blast several miles away.

“Down the street from my house…it felt like someone crashed into my garage, my whole house shook! I thought it was an earthquake! Prayers to all involved,” one person wrote on Facebook.

Source : https://www.timesnownews.com/world/us/us-news/logan-nj-explosion-warehouse-logan-township-new-jersey-videos-article-153754623

We’re pausing our live coverage for now – but will be back soon

It’s now past 9 p.m. in Washington and approaching dawn in the Middle East. We’re closing down this round of live coverage, but we’ll be back soon with a new page with the latest developments as they happen.

On Tuesday, Israeli and U.S. forces pounded targets across Iran, prompting Iranian retaliatory strikes around the Gulf as the conflict spread to Lebanon, rattled global markets and sent oil prices sharply higher.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Iran has ⁠fired missiles and drones at neighboring Arab states that host U.S. bases, and strangled shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
• Trump said the U.S. government would provide insurance to tankers in the region and the Navy would escort them through the strait if necessary.
• Global stock markets slid as the disruption of Middle East energy supplies threatened to reignite inflation.
• In Lebanon, Iran’s Hezbollah allies fired on Israel, which responded with air strikes and reinforcements of ground positions in ​the south. Syria’s defense ministry said it reinforced its border with Lebanon.
• Trump said the U.S. military had struck ​numerous Iranian naval and air targets, saying that “just about everything has been knocked out.”
• Scores of people have been killed across the Middle East since the U.S. and Israel attack began, with a reported 787 people killed, including 165 schoolgirls, in Iran. ⁠
• Iranian drones struck the U.S. embassy in Saudi Arabia after previously hitting the mission in Kuwait. Washington shut both embassies and its embassy in Lebanon, and ordered some staff and their families to leave much of the Middle East.
• The building housing Iran’s Assembly of Experts, tasked with choosing a leader to replace Khamenei, was flattened by an air attack, Iranian news agencies said.
• Israeli and U.S. leaders have voiced hopes the attack would trigger an uprising, but Reuters found no evidence one was imminent.
• Trump said he ordered U.S. forces to join Israel’s attack ​on Iran because he believed Iran was about to strike first, contradicting the rationale offered a day earlier by his secretary of state for how the ‌war began.
• Trump threatened to impose a full U.S. trade embargo ​on Spain after it refused to let the U.S. military use its bases for missions linked to strikes on Iran.

Defense executives to meet at White House on more weapons

The Trump administration plans to meet with executives from the biggest U.S. defense contractors at the White House on Friday to discuss accelerating weapons production, five sources told Reuters.

Companies including Lockheed Martin and Raytheon parent RTX, along with other key suppliers, have been invited to attend the meeting, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the discussions are private.

The meeting underscores the urgency felt in Washington to shore up weapons stocks after the Iran operation drew heavily on munitions.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 and Israel began military operations in Gaza, the U.S. has drawn down billions of dollars’ worth of weapons stockpiles, including artillery systems, ammunition and anti-tank missiles.

The conflict in Iran has consumed longer-range missiles than those furnished to Kyiv.

At least one of the people said the gathering was expected to center on pressing weapons makers to move faster to boost output.

Lockheed, the Pentagon and White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. RTX declined to comment.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/iran-live-israel-strikes-hezbollah-uk-base-hit-cyprus-conflict-widens-2026-03-02

Gypsy Rose Blanchard showed off her stunning weight loss and shared the surprising way she achieved the results.

Blanchard, 34, posted a video of herself on Instagram stepping on the scale on Wednesday, revealing she weighs 108.2 pounds.

She clearly felt confident, panning the camera down to show her teal sports bra and tight black leggings.

Blanchard, who’s 4’11”, said she didn’t lose weight by dieting, exercising or using a GLP-1.

“Okay y’all, I’m not gatekeeping. My weight loss came from life circumstances,” she wrote.

Blanchard explained that her habits changed drastically after being released from prison in December 2023. She served eight years behind bars for convincing her then-boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn, to murder her abusive mom, Dee Dee Blanchard, in 2015.

“My lifestyle changed a lot — from commissary junk food to home-cooked meals and trying new foods,” Gypsy Rose shared. “I don’t follow a workout routine (though I’d love one), I don’t limit my diet, and I don’t use GLP-1.”

“I wasn’t actively trying to lose weight… my whole life just changed and adjusted to freedom. 💗,” she added.

Back in April 2025, Gypsy Rose shared she’d lost 25 pounds three months after giving birth to her daughter, Aurora, whom she shares with boyfriend Ken Urker.

“I’ve seen a lot of comments of people asking how I lost the weight so my weight loss journey started once getting out of prison so when I started eating healthier instead of prison food, the weight begin to fall off,” she shared with fans in the comment section of her Instagram post showing side-by-side photos that highlighted her slimmed-down figure.

She also noted that she “started eating twice a day” and had “smaller portions” for each meal.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2026/03/04/celebrity-news/gypsy-rose-blanchard-reveals-weight-loss-transformation-2-years-after-prison-release/

Selena Gomez revealed that her BFF Taylor Swift has yet another talent up her sleeve: painting.

The actress shared that Swift gifted her a handmade, sentimental painting for her 30th birthday.

“She did it on an actual cloth, and she painted a beautiful lake,” Gomez described during her Tuesday appearance on the “Friends Keep Secrets” podcast.

“It was at night, and the moon was there and in the stars… she painted our exact star signs. So for hers [Sagittarius] and mine [Cancer], and she said, ‘Here’s to the next 30 years,’ hand sewn, ‘From Taylor to Selena,’ and it was all sewn by hand, so she had it painted or she painted it.”

“It’s just, instead of writing, ‘Here’s to the next 30 years,’ or printing it, she sewed every letter,” Gomez, 33, continued. “It was the sweetest gift.”

On top of the beautiful display, Swift, 36, also hand-wrote the lyrics to a song she wrote about Gomez.

Although the “Only Murders in the Building” star didn’t say which song lyrics they were, she also revealed in the episode that Swift wrote “Dorothea” about her, as well as a vault track titled “Family” about their friendship.

Gomez’s husband, Benny Blanco, who joined her for the podcast interview, shared that he was “fully blown away” when his wife pulled the piece of art out of storage while going through old belongings.

“She pulls out this piece of art, and I’m like, ‘Ah, this is perfect for the living room,’ and I said, ‘Who made this painting?’ It’s like one of the best paintings I’ve ever seen.”

The singers have been friends since 2008 when they were each dating a Jonas Brother — Gomez was with Nick and Swift was with Joe.

“It was cute. We were young … We didn’t know what we were doing,” the former Disney Channel star recalled on the “Therapuss” podcast last August.

The duo “became best friends, bonded over the breakup,” and the rest was history.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2026/03/04/entertainment/selena-gomez-details-handmade-gift-she-received-from-taylor-swift/

THE mother of Deadliest Catch star Todd Meadows has pleaded for footage of her son’s death never to be aired.

Cameras were rolling when Meadows went overboard off the coast of Alaska last week.

The 25-year-old fell into the freezing waters of the Bering Sea while filming the long-running Discovery Channel series.

His body was recovered ten minutes later, but attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful.

His mother, Angela, told TMZ: “We don’t want to see any footage of the accident and do not want Discovery to air any of that footage or make money off of our son’s death.

“We hope they only air good things of Todd on that boat.”

Instead, Angela said the family has requested footage of Todd crabbing so they can remember him doing what he loved.

The family is still waiting for a definitive answer about how he died, but Angela says she has been assured her son did not suffer in his final moments.

“We don’t want to put the blame on anyone, but someone has to take responsibility. We will have justice for Todd,” she added.

A spokesperson for the US Coast Guard said that on February 25, just after 5pm local time, officials were alerted that Meadows had gone overboard.

The alarm was raised by the fishing vessel Aleutian Lady, which reported he fell into the water about 170 miles north of Dutch Harbour, near Alaska.

Captain Rick Shelford confirmed the devastating loss in a Facebook post, calling February 25 “the most tragic day in the history of the Aleutian Lady on the Bering Sea.”

“We lost our brother, Todd Meadows,” he wrote.

“Todd was the newest member of our crew, he quickly became family. His love for fishing and his strong work ethic earned everyone’s respect right away.

“His smile was contagious, and the sound of his laughter coming up the wheelhouse stairs or over the deck hailer is something we will carry with us always.”

Discovery Channel also released a statement: “We are deeply saddened by the tragic passing of Todd Meadows.

“This is a devastating loss, and our hearts are with his loved ones, his crewmates and the entire fishing community during this incredibly difficult time.

“Our hearts are broken in a way that words can’t fully express.”

Todd is survived by three sons, and a GoFundMe has been started to support them.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/entertainment/16038701/deadliest-catch-star-death-caught-camera/

The beleaguered Iranian regime, with very few international allies, has been counting on Moscow’s support amid the ongoing US-Israeli strikes, but so far it has been left deeply disappointed.

Just hours after Israeli and US bombs started hitting Tehran on Saturday, Russia came out with a blunt statement, with the country’s permanent representative to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, calling it an “unprovoked act of armed aggression against a sovereign and independent UN member state.”

Moscow is one of Tehran’s few but staunchest allies, and a possible collapse of the Iranian regime could be a blow for its geopolitical and economic interests. Then why has it not come to Tehran’s rescue?

Russia-Iran partnership

Moscow and Tehran have been cooperating on several economic projects vital to Russia, Nikita Smagin, an independent Azerbaijan-based expert on Russia and the Middle East, told DW.

“The North-South transport corridor is one of them — especially since Russia was cut off from its traditional transit routes after starting the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022,” he explained.

Russia, India and Iran signed the agreement for the 7,200-kilometer (4,473 miles) multi-mode network in 2000, which is also set to go through Azerbaijan. According to the Saudi Arabia-based think tank Gulf Research Center, 75% of the project has been finished.

Iran has also been crucial to Russia militarily — not least by providing so-called Shahed drones since 2023. The drones have largely reshaped the Ukraine war, said Julian Waller, research analyst in the Russia Studies Program at US-based think tank Center for Naval Analyses (CNA).

“Iran was useful for the Russian war effort, even if the production [of drones] has now largely been indigenized to Russia, which has improved their design,” Waller told DW.

Russia is also reported to have been sharing intelligence with Iran and sent missiles and ammunition to Tehran.

“The partnership between Russia and Iran, however, is not about ideology — Russian politicians don’t particularly like Iran,” underlined Smagin, “but they view Tehran as a reliable strategic partner, as both countries are under international sanctions — unlike Turkey or Egypt that might stop trading with Russia if pressured by the West,” he explained.

Gregoire Roos, director for Europe and Russia at London-based think tank Chatham House, is of the view that Tehran had even become Moscow’s mentor to a certain extent. “Iran has had the significant experience of bypassing international sanctions for many years and been providing Russia with advice on how to circumvent them,” he told DW.

Iran’s miscalculation?

And yet, experts seem to agree Russia isunlikely to actively intervene in the ongoing US-Israel war against Iran.

“The two countries are not defensive allies,” Waller said. That might also be down to an informal non-attack pact with Israel that Russia is understood to have, some analysts say.

According to Mojtaba Hashemi, international relations expert and political analyst, Tehran was nonetheless expecting “tangible political and military support” from Moscow. “This included expanded military-technical cooperation, intelligence sharing, and sending a clear deterrent message to its enemies — not just verbal support,” the expert told DW, adding that the Iranian regime was wrong in its calculations.

“Russia and China have bigger problems to worry about. Their support has been the same kind that has so far provided the Islamic Republic with many weapons and means of repression,” Hashemi said.

Mohammad Ghaedi, a lecturer at George Washington University, however, believes that the lack of support from Russia didn’t come as a surprise to the Iranian leaders. “Skepticism about relying on Moscow has long existed in Tehran. As (former Iranian president) Mahmoud Ahmadinejad once said, ‘Russia has always sold out the Iranian nation,’ and President Masoud Pezeshkian after the 12-day war (June 2025) noted that ‘countries we considered friends did not help us during the war.'”

The Iran war benefits and drawbacks for Moscow

A prolonged Iran war might have its upsides for Moscow, argues Chatham House’s Roos. “The media oxygen would grow thinner for [Ukrainian] President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, because everything is about Iran and the risk of escalation,” he said.

“Additionally, Washington could not afford to sustain another front from a diplomatic and military support perspective — and the hierarchy of priorities will obviously go to the Middle East,” he added.

And there might be economic perks for Russia as well. Iran has largely closed the Strait of Hormuz through which 20% of the world’s oil and gas passes. Oil and gas prices have since soared.

“If oil and gas prices stayed high for months or even a year, that would be a major benefit to the oil-and-gas-exporter Russia,” think-tank CNA’s Julian Waller said, adding that the Kremlin could then bring down domestic taxes that had been used to finance the war.

Still, the possible fall of the Iranian regime would be a major setback for Russia’s standing, as Moscow likes to depict itself as a great power, underlined Roos. “Russia has been part of a group of countries — including Iran, Syria and China — aiming to replace the Western-driven world order by a multipolar world,” he said.

“But this group never shrank so quickly before, which means a significant loss of influence for Russia in its so-called Eurasian zone of influence,” Roos added.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/iran-war-why-is-russia-not-coming-to-tehrans-aid/a-76214840

As tensions rise across the Middle East, Kenyans fear economic shocks, disrupted exports and risks to the more than 400,000 Kenyans working in Gulf states.

Kenyan President William Ruto in the weeks leading up to the US-Israel war with Iran called for restraint and dialogue, urging de-escalation while reaffirming Kenya’s long-standing support for multilateral diplomacy and international law. Now he has spoken out against the war.

“Kenya strongly condemns the strikes on the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain in the evolving conflict in the Middle East,” Ruto said on Monday.

“It is evident that the regionalization of this conflict poses a grave threat to international peace and security. Kenya calls for urgent multi-stakeholder engagement towards de-escalation.”

Kenya has long promoted dialogue and peaceful dispute resolution, and Nairobi’s messaging has reflected that tradition.

At the same time, the government has been careful not to alienate key economic and strategic partners in the region, where thousands of Kenyans are employed and where significant trade ties exist.

Opposition leaders have responded with a mix of caution and criticism. Some have questioned whether the government is doing enough to prepare for possible economic fallout. Others have pressed for clearer communication regarding contingency plans for Kenyans abroad.

Analysts note that Kenya is geographically distant from the conflict but economically and socially linked to the Middle East.

How do Kenyans feel the impact of the US-Israel war with Iran?

In Nairobi, DW spoke to Kenyans affected by the early stages of the conflict.

“We are already feeling the pressure,” said Nairobi-based logistics businessman Vincent Kipngeno, who exports horticultural products to markets in the region.

Kipngeno noted that fuel prices have started climbing, which he said “immediately pushes up the cost of everything we do, from transporting goods to refrigeration and air freight for horticultural exports going to Gulf markets.”

“Our trucks, cold storage and flights all depend on fuel, so when oil prices spike because of war in the Middle East, the expenses hit us right away. What worries us even more is the uncertainty,” Kipngeno told DW. “The Gulf is a key market for Kenyan exporters, and if the conflict disrupts shipping routes or airspace, delays and higher insurance costs will follow.”

“For businesses like ours, even the possibility of escalation forces companies to rethink contracts, schedules, and pricing, and in the end it is Kenyan consumers who start paying more,” Kipngeno said.

Aisha Juma, a clothes trader in Nairobi’s Eastleigh market, popularly known as Little Mogadishu, said traders are already feeling the effects.

“For traders like us in Eastleigh, the effects start almost immediately when tensions rise in the Middle East, because Kenya relies heavily on fuel coming through that region, and fuel powers almost everything in this country, from transport and farming to manufacturing and small businesses like ours,” she said.

“When prices begin to rise, the cost of moving goods from the port to Nairobi also increases,” Juma told DW, adding that rising transport costs force suppliers to increase prices, ultimately making even basic goods more expensive.

“Many businesses here depend on goods that move through Gulf trade routes, so instability there creates a lot of anxiety,” she said.

Kenyan workers in the Gulf at risk

More than 400,000 Kenyans live and work in Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Many are employed in domestic work, construction, hospitality and aviation.

The Gulf region is also a key source of remittances to Kenya, which contribute significantly to household incomes and foreign exchange reserves.

As tensions rise, families in Kenya have expressed concern. Reports of airspace closures, missile exchanges or security alerts in parts of the region quickly ripple through Kenyan social media and WhatsApp groups.

Families fear growing regional risks

For some, the fear is not only about immediate safety, but about job security if companies scale back operations or if travel routes are disrupted.

“Many of us are following the news every day because what happens here affects our livelihoods and our safety because they are bombing residential areas where we live and hotels where we work,” said Peter Otieno, a Kenyan construction worker based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

“If companies start slowing down projects or flights are disrupted, the first thing people worry about is whether contracts will continue. Back home our families depend on the money we send, so when tensions rise in the region, it creates a lot of anxiety for workers like us.”

Energy vulnerability and fuel concerns

Kenya imports the bulk of its petroleum products, and global oil prices are highly sensitive to instability in the Middle East, a region that accounts for a significant share of global oil production and shipping.

Even if Kenya does not import directly from conflict zones, global price spikes can quickly translate into higher landed costs.

In recent years, Kenya has experienced fuel price volatility linked to global shocks, including the war in Ukraine, and supply chain disruptions.

A sustained escalation in the Middle East could drive up international crude prices, putting pressure on the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority’s monthly price reviews.

Higher fuel costs could affect multiple sectors of the economy, from transport and food prices to manufacturing and electricity generation.

Kenyan tea exports under strain

Beyond energy, the Gulf region is an important market for Kenyan exports, including tea, horticultural produce and other agricultural goods.

The Middle East also serves as a major transit hub for global trade, with key shipping lanes such as the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz playing a critical role in maritime logistics. Any disruption to shipping routes could increase freight costs or delay deliveries, affecting exporters and potentially lead to delays or changes in contract timelines.

XN Iraki, a prominent Kenyan economist and associate professor at the University of Nairobi’s Faculty of Business and Management Sciences, says tensions in the Middle East could have economic effects for Kenya due to trade ties with the region.

“Remember also that Iran is a very big market for our tea, and if we don’t export tea there then we are affected by that,” Iraki told DW.

According to the Tea Board of Kenya and industry data reported in March 2026, Iran imported approximately 13 million kilograms of Kenyan tea in 2024, with a valuation of roughly 4.26 billion Kenyan shillings (around $33 million/ €28 million).

“We also export a lot of fresh flowers, vegetables and meat to the Middle East, and that is also affected,” Iraki said.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/kenya-braces-as-middle-east-conflict-escalates/a-76218179

Videos claiming to show the US–Israel–Iran war are flooding social media. And while they look dramatic or terrifying, many of them are fake, AI‑generated or taken completely out of context.

Fighting has erupted across the Middle East after Israel and the US attacked Iran, following a US military build-up in the region. The US and Israel launched their massive joint operation after weeks of tensions and talks.

Since then, a lot of false claims of attacks have been spread across various social media platforms and in multiple languages; many of them are AI-generated.

DW Fact check debunked a few viral claims and put together a list that will help you tell fake from real content.

Video material about attack on girls’ school is genuine

Claim: “The video currently being circulated under the name ‘missile attack on Minab elementary school’ pertains to an attack in Peshawar, Pakistan, and has no connection to Minab,” says the translation of a viral post on X. The post includes a video showing crowds gathered in front of a destroyed building.

Fact check: False

The circulating footage is authentic. It does not depict an attack in Peshawar, Pakistan.

On February 28, during US and Israeli missile strikes on Iran, a girls’ school in Minab, southern Iran, was hit. According to media reports, Iranian officials accused Israel and the US of carrying out the strikes. On Sunday, Israel reportedly denied responsibility. The accusations cannot currently be verified independently.

A UN report states that around 150 people were killed. Iranian state media reported at least 165 deaths. These figures also cannot be independently confirmed.

Several media outlets and organizations — including the United Nations — have reported on the strike. Verified videos from after the attack confirm the destruction.

A terrorist attack did occur at a school in Peshawar, Pakistan, in 2014. However, video material from that time looks entirely different from footage of the current attack in Iran. Grok, the AI assistant on X, has incorrectly connected the Minab footage to the 2014 attack in Pakistan.

Are videos showing a missile hit in Tel Aviv really related to the current attacks?

Claim: This video, viewed more than 1 million times on X, and also shared on other platforms such as Instagram and Facebook, allegedly shows a missile hitting a building in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Fact check: Fake

Although media reports confirm that Iranian missiles hit Tel Aviv, this video does not show such an attack. It is AI-generated.

There are several clues:

• The antennas on the building collapse before the missile makes contact.
• The building on the left topples onto another structure that inexplicably remains intact — a physically unrealistic scenario.

This is just one of many AI-generated videos circulating online in connection with the US-Israel conflict with Iran.

Viral video showing Dubai airport on fire?

A ferocious Jessie Buckley and a heartbreaking Christian Bale star in a bold film of “huge scope and ambition” that is “loaded with surprises”.

If you were a powerless woman in 1936 Chicago killed by the mob then reanimated to serve as the wife of Frankenstein’s creature, you’d be a little angry, too. Jessie Buckley certainly is in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s riff on the 1935 classic Bride of Frankenstein.

The Bride! gives the title character, who doesn’t speak a word in the original film, a voice and mind of her own. But it is also loaded with surprises that its premise doesn’t hint at. Gyllenhaal – who first brilliantly directed The Lost Daughter – nods to Young Frankenstein, Bonnie and Clyde, and Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. There are serious threats of sexual violence, along with playful song-and-dance numbers, a detective and a His Girl Friday. Oh, and Mary Shelley appears. At times it’s as if the film itself was stitched together from the parts of other movies, but collecting all those bits and pieces is a sign of Gyllenhaal’s huge scope and ambition.

“The film is gigantic in scale, as they arrive in the bright neon of New York City’s Times Square

A congressional committee has voted to summon US Attorney General Pam Bondi to testify about the investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The motion to subpoena Bondi was introduced by Nancy Mace, a Republican lawmaker, who accused the justice department of a “cover-up”.

The Trump administration has faced growing pressure across the political spectrum to release all the documents related to the probe. The congressional committee has already compelled a number of high profile people to testify in the case.

“The Epstein case is one of the greatest cover-ups in American history. His global sex trafficking network is larger than what is being revealed,” Mace wrote on social media.

Bondi and the Trump administration have faced criticism over their handling of the release of the files, including failing to black out the names of Epstein’s victims.

On Wednesday, five Republicans, including Mace, and Representatives Lauren Boebert, Tim Burchett, Michael Cloud and Scott Perry, joined Democrats on the House Oversight committee to vote in favour of the subpoena or legal summons.

“Three million documents have been released, and we still don’t have the full truth,” Mace wrote. “Videos are missing. Audio is missing. Logs are missing. There are millions more documents out there.”

Mace, who despite backing the president, has been critical of his Department of Justice’s (DOJ) handling of the Epstein files.

The justice department has released millions of documents, but millions more have yet to be released. The agency did not immediately respond to the BBC’s request for comment.

Last November, Trump signed legislation passed by Congress compelling the justice department to release all material from its investigations into Epstein.

But after millions of documents were released, the agency faced bipartisan backlash, with lawmakers accusing the justice department of failing to black out some identifying information about survivors while protecting the identities of those who were not victims.

The top Democrat on the Oversight committee, Robert Garcia, has also accused the justice department of withholding files containing allegations of sexual abuse of a minor made against President Donald Trump.

Garcia said he had personally viewed documents containing the allegation that had not been made public.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c23zz1x9dx0o

In a small flat in a social housing complex near Caracas, Adriana Briceño holds up what looks like a piece of rubbish, but hidden on the old chocolate bar wrapper is a message.

The words scrawled on it were written by her son and are addressed to Ángel Godoy, the boy’s father and Briceño’s husband, while Ángel Godoy was a prisoner in Venezuela’s notorious El Helicoide jail.

“Daddy, take this to sweeten things a little,” reads the blue ink. “We love you.”

Originally built in the 1950s as a luxury shopping centre, El Helicoide was never completed and was later taken over by Venezuela’s feared intelligence services.

It became a symbol of government repression.

A United Nations investigation documented it was where people who had been arbitrarily arrested or forcibly disappeared were taken and, in some cases, tortured.

Recently released detainees like Godoy have described brutal conditions in interviews with the BBC.

He is one of the hundreds of political prisoners arrested under President Nicolás Maduro and held in Venezuela’s vast detention system, sometimes for years.

More than 600 people have been released since Maduro was seized by US forces in a military operation at the start of January, but according to prisoners’ rights group Foro Penal, hundreds more are still behind bars.

Godoy is one of two inmates who has described to the BBC the punishment cells, enforced isolation and threats to family members that they faced before they were released.

Millions of people were left without power in Cuba on Wednesday – the latest in a string of blackouts to hit the island as it struggles with fuel shortages worsened by pressure from the US.

Two-thirds of the island was plunged into darkness following what officials described as an “unexpected” shutdown at one of the country’s main power plants.

Cuba’s national electricity company UNE said the blackout affected a vast area stretching from the central province Camaguey to Pinar del Rio in the west, and including the capital, Havana.

Cuba has been hit by a wave of power cuts in recent years, with chronic fuel shortages exacerbated by a US blockade on oil from key ally Venezuela since January.

The communist nation is also suffering from a shortage of aviation fuel, leading several airlines to suspend services there and limiting international tourism. Air France became the latest carrier to do so on Wednesday.

The cause of Wednesday’s outage was sparked by a breakdown at the Antonio Guiteras thermometric plant, about 100km (62 miles) east of Havana, authorities said.

The national electricity company said efforts were under way to restore services.

The blackout is the second outage to affect Cuba’s western region in the past three months.

Creaking infrastructure has been compounded by fuel shortages, resulting in a crisis that has disrupted public transport and rubbish collection.

Cuba, which relies heavily on imported fuel to generate electricity, has partly survived crippling Western sanctions due to the help of its allies in the region, including the left-wing Venezuelan government.

Venezuela was believed to have sent around 35,000 barrels of oil a day to Cuba – providing about half the island’s oil needs – before the former’s President Nicolas Maduro was captured by US forces in early January.

Since then, the US has seized a number of shipments of oil bound for Cuba.

Power cuts lasting up to 18 hours a day have affected hospital emergency wards, dialysis patients and pumping stations.

The US and Cuba have had a strained relationship since the communist Fidel Castro overthrew a US-backed government in 1959. US economic and trade embargoes on Cuba have been in place since 1960.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2ggpq1742o

Meta Platforms’ Facebook was largely back up after an outage that affected thousands of users in the U.S. on Tuesday, according to Downdetector.com.

At its peak, there were more than 11,000 reports of issues with the social media platform in the U.S., before coming down to about 1,200 as of 06:11 p.m. ET, according to Downdetector.

Downdetector tracks outages by collating status reports from a number of sources, including user-submitted reports, and the actual number of affected users may vary.

Meta did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on what caused the outage.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/facebook-largely-back-up-after-brief-outage-in-us-downdetector-shows-5968406

OpenAI is developing a new code-hosting platform to rival Microsoft’s GitHub, The Information reported on Tuesday, citing a person with knowledge of the project.

Engineers from OpenAI encountered a rise in service disruptions that rendered GitHub unavailable in recent months, which ultimately prompted the decision to develop the new product, the report said.

The OpenAI project is in its early stages and likely will not be completed for months, according to The Information. Employees working on it have considered making the code repository available for purchase to OpenAI’s customer base.

Reuters could not independently verify the report. OpenAI, GitHub and Microsoft did not immediately respond to our requests for comment.

If OpenAI does sell the product, it would mark a bold move by the creator of ChatGPT to compete directly against Microsoft, which holds a significant stake in the firm.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/openai-developing-alternative-microsofts-github-information-reports-5968411

Intel said on Tuesday that longstanding board Chair Frank Yeary plans to retire, the latest shakeup for the once dominant U.S. chipmaker as CEO Lip-Bu Tan seeks to refashion the company.

Current Intel board member and veteran chip executive Craig Barratt will succeed Yeary as chair after the company’s annual shareholder meeting in May.

A year after Tan came on board as CEO, Yeary’s departure is a significant shift for the board of the Santa Clara, California-based company. Last year, three board members announced their retirement several weeks after Tan took the helm. Since becoming CEO, Tan has implemented a plan to turn around the company that re-embraces manufacturing and reduces corporate complexity through middle-management job cuts.

Intel was the dominant U.S. chipmaker for decades but stumbled after around 2010 when it failed to make a popular mobile phone chip and did not keep pace with rival manufacturer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.

In a statement, Yeary praised the company’s progress on reviving its manufacturing technology and noted that he and the board selected Tan last year.

Yeary served on the board since 2009 and was chair since 2023. He has presided over four CEO transitions and has dealt with the decline of Intel’s manufacturing and the rise of TSMC.

“I think his departure was long overdue,” Seaport Securities analyst Jay Goldberg said. “Intel has made a lot of bad decisions” while Yeary has been on the board, he said.

Replacing Yeary, an investor and corporate adviser, with a seasoned semiconductor executive was a welcome move, three former Intel executives told Reuters.

Intel said its board – which over the years has included executives from fields such as medical devices and aerospace, in addition to financiers – had sought to remake itself.

“The board has been intentional in its refreshment efforts, adding directors with skills and backgrounds to map to the future opportunities and challenges the company faces, as well as the experience and perspectives to support Intel’s evolving strategy and long-term stockholder interests,” the company said in its press release announcing Yeary’s departure.

Prior to Tan’s installment as CEO, he served on the Intel board with Yeary until Tan left due to differences over the company’s turnaround plans.

The incoming chair, Barratt, joined the Intel board in 2025 and has experience working at Qualcomm and briefly at Intel. Barratt is not related to previous Intel CEO Craig Barrett.

“Lip-Bu’s biggest challenge is changing Intel’s culture and professionalizing the board will help that a lot,” Goldberg, the analyst, said, referring to Barratt’s appointment as chair.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/intel-board-chair-frank-yeary-depart-after-17-years-5968261

From data centres in the sky to commercial space travel, ambitions once seen as distant are becoming part of the country’s broader economic strategy.

China has listed aerospace development as a strategic priority in its 15th Five-Year Plan, signalling that space is no longer just a scientific pursuit, but a pillar of its future economy.

From rocket launches to astronaut returns, the country’s Shenzhou missions – China’s crewed spaceflights – are widely televised.

Less publicised, however, are the rocket systems that make those missions possible.

At the Shenzhen Science and Technology Museum, parts of retired rockets are on display for the public until Wednesday (Mar 4).

One exhibit shows what remains of the Long March 2F rocket that launched two astronauts into space in 2016. Its scorched surface is a reminder of the intense heat endured during re-entry.

Nearby sits a component of the Long March 3A rocket system, which has been used to launch satellites and spacecraft for China’s lunar exploration programme.

The message of the free exhibit is simple – ambitions in outer space are no longer distant dreams.

As China’s leaders gather in Beijing this week for the annual Two Sessions meetings, where economic priorities for the year are set, the country’s expanding space ambitions are likely to feature.

A NEW ROADMAP FOR SPACE

In January, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the country’s main contractor for space programmes, outlined its plans for the country’s 15th Five-Year Plan.

Among its goals are setting up a space tourism system, building data centres in space, studying space mining, and improving the monitoring and removal of space debris.

China has also emphasised international cooperation in space.

For example, its civil space agency, the China National Space Administration, has partnered with multiple countries on satellite projects and invited foreign participation in its planned International Lunar Research Station.

David Dong, deputy CEO of the Orion Astropreneur Space Academy – an institution that nurtures space industry talent – said the new focus areas reflect China’s desire to stay ahead.

He added: “They need new frontiers in this sector to demonstrate that China is still leading or can be a leader in the space industry in terms of technology advancement.”

SPACE RACE AND GLOBAL RIVALRIES

Beyond commercial ambitions, space is also seen as an arena where geopolitical competition plays out.

China has made a series of significant space achievements in recent years.

In 2019, it became the first country to land a spacecraft – the Chang’e-4 – on the far side of the moon. In 2024, it launched another mission to collect lunar samples from the moon’s far side – something the United States has not achieved.

The missions brought China closer to understanding the moon’s geological history and strengthened its position as a serious contender in deep space exploration.

Such achievements are costly and demand deep pockets and a high tolerance for failure, experts say, with Beijing supporting the sector through subsidies and state-backed investment.

One example is LandSpace, a private rocket firm backed by state-linked investors, which is developing reusable launch technology to lower costs and enable more frequent missions.

US-based SpaceX is currently the only company to have operationalised reusable orbital rockets at scale.

At the same time, experts say space infrastructure cannot be built in isolation.

Dong said countries would need to invest heavily if they want to build space capabilities entirely on their own.

“I don’t think it’s feasible for every country, because space is a shared resource, and the infrastructure inherently can be shared (by) everybody,” he noted.

“You don’t want a satellite only for your own country. You want it to be able to serve everybody else.”

He added that countries need multilateral or bilateral talks to work together and reduce infrastructure costs.

However, such cooperation has limits. Many space technologies are dual-use, serving civilian needs like navigation as well as military functions such as intelligence gathering.

Export controls and national security concerns limit certain collaborations. For example, US law restricts direct cooperation between US space agency NASA and China.

Still, analysts say commercial space could offer room for partnership, especially in areas such as climate monitoring and disaster management, where satellite data is often shared across borders.

Hong Kong could help facilitate such cooperation, given its role as an international financial centre and its common law system, which may ease cross-border financing and partnerships.

Gary Ng, senior economist at French investment bank Natixis, said Hong Kong could act as a bridge between Chinese and international capital, and support financial and technology collaboration in sectors such as space.

He added that as more satellites are launched globally, developing a rules-based system to manage space activities will become increasingly important.

PRIVATE FIRMS DRIVING GROWTH

While the government sets the direction, private companies are increasingly powering China’s commercial space ambitions.

One of them is Shenzhen-based Cangyu Space. The company plans to launch its first high-orbit relay satellite by the end of 2026, which it said will help it achieve full coverage across Southeast Asia.

“We can monitor operations at certain mining sites or distant-sea fisheries where there’s no signal coverage,” said Jason Li, the company’s market manager.

Such satellites could also support disaster management and remote sensing applications that require near real-time data transmission, he added.

Cangyu aims to eventually build a satellite network offering global coverage.

The company operates in Shenzhen’s Luohu district, the same area where China’s economic reforms first took shape in the 1980s, when the city was designated one of the country’s first special economic zones.

The district became a testing ground for market-oriented policies and foreign investment.

Four decades later, it is positioning itself as a base for space and aerospace firms, offering policy support and industry infrastructure to attract companies in the sector.

“Luohu has provided us with industrial policies, space guarantees, and preferential policies for talent introduction,” Li said.

“Moreover, it offers excellent services for our overseas expansion and globalisation. It has introduced us to many overseas resources, including forums and enterprises.”

In the same district, Magic Cube Satellite Technology focuses on satellite hardware. The company operates out of the Luohu District Space and Aerospace Technology Building, 10 floors above Cangyu’s office.

Magic Cube has set up what it says is China’s first production line for satellite solar arrays, which power satellites in orbit.

The company has been in many business collaborations with Cangyu, said its marketing director Zhang Cheng.

“Eventually, some of their terminals can be applied to our satellites, achieving a true industrial chain synergy,” he added.

Similar buildings that house space companies and related services are emerging across China, as local governments back the growth of commercial aerospace ecosystems.

According to industry data, the country is now home to more than 600 commercial space companies.

Annual financing in the sector exceeded US$2.5 billion last year, up 32 per cent year on year. The broader commercial space industry is estimated to be worth more than US$350 billion.

State media have also reported that at least five private rocket makers are considering initial public offerings, a sign of growing investor interest.

Orion Astropreneur Space Academy’s Dong said such momentum is important to attract both investors and public attention to the sector.

But he added that as the industry becomes increasingly commercially driven, the challenge will be whether Chinese space companies can generate sustainable revenue from their operations.

SPACE FOR THE PUBLIC

China’s space ambitions are also reaching a wider audience.

In January, Chinese startup InterstellOr announced it had sold tickets for a 2.5-hour spaceflight priced at US$430,000. The flight is expected to take place around 2028.

The company said more than 20 people, including an actor, have signed up.

For some members of the public, space tourism is a sign of how far the country has come.

“They can all go on space trips. Things that we never dared to imagine before can now be realised,” said Wang, who works in the petrochemical industry and gave only his surname, during a visit to the Shenzhen Science and Technology Museum on Jan 29.

Younger generations are also inspired.

“I want to see whether the Earth is flat or not. Since I haven’t been to space, I don’t know if these theories are true. I just want to go up there to verify it,” said a primary school student at the exhibition.

For other visitors, the emotional impact runs deeper.

“I wanted to cry, it’s very touching because China has come such a long way. From my parents’ time, we had nothing,” said Susan Chan, a 57-year-old interior designer.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/east-asia/china-space-industry-travel-economy-5966691

Videos of explosions at the US Consulate in Dubai’s Al Seef Road surfaced on social media on Tuesday amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East after the US-Israeli strikes in Iran Saturday. Later, CNN confirmed that the UAE consulate has been hit in a suspected Iranian drone attack.

Marco Rubio said all US consulate staff in Dubai are safe, noting personnel were drawn down in advance.

Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif claimed that the conflict between US-Israel and Iran was orchestrated by Zionists to reduce Pakistan into a vasal state. He said Israel’s victory would lead to India, Afghanistan and Iran adopting a “joint single point agenda” of enmity towards Pakistan.

The US and Israeli attacks on Iranian territory have spooked Pakistan, which shares an over 900-km-long border with Iran. On Tuesday, Pakistani Defence Minister, Khawaja Asif, alleged a “Zionist plan” behind the ongoing armed conflict in Iran that was aimed at turning Pakistan into a “vassal state”. He said an Israeli victory could give rise to a coordinated plan, involving Afghanistan, India and Iran.

Pakistan is engaged in an “open war” with Taliban-led Afghanistan and fought a mini-war with India in May 2025. Iran shares a border running along Pakistan’s Balochistan province, which has been the hotbed of insurgency for decades.

In a post on X, Asif alleged that Zionism, referring to the movement to establish and protect a Jewish homeland, had played a “direct or indirect” role in all conflicts affecting the Islamic world ever since the creation of Israel in 1948. He claimed that Zionist ideology was the driving force in any large-scale conflict in the Muslim world. He further claimed that “major global powers were held hostage by Zionism” and that Zionists were the ones dictating the course of the global economy for decades.

Referring to the current conflict between Iran, Israel and the US, Asif alleged that “a war had been imposed on them” in spite of Tehran’s willingness to negotiate. This war, he claimed, was “orchestrated by Zionists” with the express purpose of extending Israel’s influence towards Pakistan’s borders.

The minister then warned that should Israel emerge victorious, it would then lead to India, Afghanistan and Iran adopting a “joint single point agenda” of enmity towards Pakistan. This, according to Asif, would make the country’s borders insecure and “surrounding us with enemies from all sides and turning Pakistan into a vassal state”.

Khawaja Asif beseeched Pakistan’s 250 million citizens to recognise this “conspiracy” and the intentions of “our mutual enemies”, regardless of political or religious differences.

KHAWAJA ASIF CALLS FOR UNITY AMONG MUSLIM NATIONS

Asif also reaffirmed Pakistan’s status as a nuclear power, which he argued was protecting Pakistan from the “Zionists” and claimed that “the might of our armed forces is recognised worldwide”. He acknowledged the role of former Pakistani Prime Minister, Nawaz Shariff for his role in the 1998 nuclear tests which formally declared the country’s nuclear weapons capability.

The minister also expressed support for Palestine, saying, “May Palestine be free,” and offered prayers for Pakistan’s continued strength and security. He concluded by calling for unity among Muslim-majority countries, urging them to recognise shared challenges and act collectively.

Asif’s remarks come in the backdrop of an intense military confrontation between the US and Israel on one side, with Iran on the other. The conflict started with US and Israeli strikes decimating large sections of Iran’s military and clerical echelons, including killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. It has since then set the Middle East ablaze as Tehran fired drones and missiles targeting at least 11 other countries, like Bahrain, Oman, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and others.

Source : https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/pakistan-defence-minister-khwaja-asif-iran-war-israel-zionist-plan-to-turn-pak-into-vassal-state-with-india-2877115-2026-03-03

Cross-border fighting between Afghanistan and Pakistan has entered its fifth day. The UN says the violence has killed 42 civilians and forced around 20,000 families to leave their homes.

Pakistan said its military posts along the border came under attack by Afghan Taliban forces on Tuesday, sparking renewed clashes that killed 67 Afghan troops and one Pakistani soldier.

Afghanistan rejected that account as “baseless.” The Taliban government in Kabul instead said its forces had successfully repelled attacks from Pakistan and killed four Pakistani soldiers.

Fighting between the two countries erupted on Thursday last week, when Afghan Taliban troops launched a border offensive in retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes carried out the previous weekend.

Since then, Islamabad has declared it is in an “open war” with Afghanistan and has carried out new strikes on multiple sites, including the former US air base at Bagram, the capital, Kabul, and the southern city of Kandahar.

UN says civilians caught up in the war

The UN mission in Afghanistan reported that 42 civilians had been killed and 104 wounded since Thursday, while the UN World Food Program said the violence had led to the “displacement of approximately 20,000 families.”

The UN mission called for an immediate halt to the fighting, saying it was causing the already dire humanitarian situation to deteriorate.

Differing casualty numbers

Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Enayatullah Khowarazmi said at a press conference in Kabul on Tuesday that, in the last 24 hours, Afghan Taliban forces had conducted a counteroffensive along the Durand Line — a disputed border between the two countries.

He said 28 Afghan soldiers had been killed in the conflict so far, with around 150 Pakistani troop fatalities.

Pakistan’s figures different significantly, with an estimated 150 Pakistani troops dead and more than 450 Afghan soldiers killed since the start of the conflict.

The claims from both sides could not be independently verified.

What is the conflict about?

Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of harboring armed militants from Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a group responsible for staging attacks inside Pakistan. Kabul rejects the charge.

Afghan Defense Minister Khawarazmi reiterated Tuesday that the government “will not allow any person or group to use our territory against other countries.”

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/pakistan-claims-dozens-of-afghan-taliban-troops-killed/a-76204594

The father of a teenage boy accused of killing four people in a shooting rampage at a high school in the US state of Georgia has been found guilty of murder, child cruelty and other charges.

Colin Gray, 55, pleaded not guilty to all 29 charges against him stemming from the 2024 attack that left two teachers and two students dead in Winder, Georgia.

His prosecution marks the third time that a US parent has been held criminally responsible for a mass shooting carried out by their child, according to CBS News, the BBC’s US partner.

Prosecutors argued Gray was “the one person who could have prevented” the shooting by his 14-year-old son, because he knew he “was a bomb just waiting to go off”.

The attack at Apalachee High School outside the city of Atlanta claimed the lives of Christian Angulo, 14, Mason Schermerhorn, 14, Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53.

His son, Colt Gray, is currently awaiting trial for the shooting.

During the trial, the jury heard how Colin Gray had bought his son an AR-style rifle for Christmas the year before the attack, even though the boy had been questioned by police just seven months earlier about online threats to commit a school shooting.

Prosecutors argued he ignored numerous warning signs, including a notebook detailing how his son planned to kill students and teachers.

“After seeing sign after sign of his son’s deteriorating mental state, his violence, his school-shooter obsession, the defendant had sufficient warning that his son was a bomb just waiting to go off,” Barrow County Assistant District Attorney Patricia Brooks told jurors.

“And instead of disarming him, he gave him the detonator.”

His lawyers attempted to shift blame to his son.

“This is the person who went into the high school and shot and killed four people he didn’t even know and injured scores of others,” his lawyer, Jimmy Barry, told jurors, referring to the boy.

“This is the person who needs to be punished. He made a conscious decision to do this – a secretive decision.”

The jury deliberated for only about two hours, after the two-week trial. During the trial, Colin Gray took the stand to testify that he did not know his son would commit an attack.

Prosecutors outlined how the shooting allegedly occurred, describing how the boy carried the rifle on the school bus and how one of the young victims saved the lives of other pupils.

“Christian [Angulo] acted, and became a hero,” prosecutor Patricia Brooks said.

“He attempted to push the shooter out of his classroom, and when he was shot, Christian’s last act on this earth was to shut the door to his classroom to protect his friends.”

According to US media in the courtroom, Colin Gray did not visibly react to hearing the verdict.

He now faces at least 30 years in prison. His sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.

Prior to the shooting, authorities had interviewed Colin Gray and his son after federal law enforcement received a tip.

The FBI said its National Threat Operations Center had alerted local police in May 2023 after receiving anonymous tips about “online threats to commit a school shooting at an unidentified location and time”.

The agency said that within 24 hours, investigators had determined that the threats originated in Georgia.

Sheriff’s deputies interviewed the boy and his father, who “stated he had hunting guns in the house, but the subject did not have unsupervised access to them”, the FBI said.

The suspect, who was 13 years old at the time, denied making the online threats and officials “alerted local schools for continued monitoring of the subject”.

“At the time, there was no probable cause for an arrest or to take any additional law enforcement action on the local, state or federal levels,” added the FBI statement.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpv87wwmd0lo

US President Donald Trump has said he “does not care” if Iran take part in this summer’s 2026 World Cup.

Trump’s comments come amid US and Israeli strikes on Iran, which has responded by launching attacks on US-allied states in the Gulf in an escalating conflict.

The US is co-hosting the World Cup which takes place between 11 June and 19 July, along with Canada and Mexico.

“I really don’t care,” Trump told Politico, external about Iran playing in the tournament.

“I think Iran is a very badly defeated country. They’re running on fumes.”

Iran have qualified for a fourth-consecutive World Cup and are scheduled to open their World Cup campaign against New Zealand and Belgium in Los Angeles before their final group game against Egypt in Seattle.

The country did not pull out of the competition last summer when the US bombed three nuclear facilities in the country.

But with the more serious current upheaval, the head of Iran’s football federation, Mehdi Taj, has reportedly cast doubt on their participation., external

Source : https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/c5y4v1yly04o

As the conflict quickly escalates, here’s what travellers in the Middle East and those considering a trip there need to know.

On 28 February, a coordinated US-Israeli military offensive deemed “Operation Epic Fury” struck Iran, killing the country’s ruler Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Since the initial strike, the conflict has rapidly expanded to affect a dozen countries – including drone attacks on the Royal Air Force (RAF) Base in Cyprus, an EU nation and all the countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

There have also been attacks on airports and civilian areas, especially in the economic and tourist hubs of Dubai and Abu Dhabi in United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Doha in Qatar. The Dubai Airport, the busiest in the world for international travel, was damaged by drone debris in the counter-strikes, leading it to be closed for three days in a row, stranding hundreds of thousands of passengers. A projectile also hit the luxury Fairmont The Palm hotel in Dubai, causing a fire that was filmed and widely shared across social media.

“The retaliation, especially against areas like the UAE, surprised me and a lot of others,” said Dr John Rose, Chief Risk Advisor at corporate travel management firm ALTOUR. While it was widely expected that nations like Israel might be hit in retaliation, the UAE has largely been considered a safe place to travel in the region, with Dubai alone attracting nearly 20 million travellers in 2025. He notes that safety for travellers remains paramount for the region; noting that no airport will reopen if it’s under realistic threat.

US President Trump has said he expects the strikes to continue for several weeks. As the situation unfolds in real-time, many travellers are wondering if or when it will be safe to travel to the region. Countries around the world have issued increasingly escalating travel advisories – including a sweeping directive from the US State Department on social media site X for American nationals to “depart now” from 14 nations across the Middle East (including Egypt, which hasn’t been directly impacted in the strikes or the offensive) as the conflict escalates.

The situation on the ground in each country is nuanced, changing rapidly (sometimes by the hour), and travellers should assess their own risk profile and reasons for going. Here’s where things stand across the impacted countries at the time of publishing.

We will be updating this story as the situation changes.

How the devastating meaning of The Meeting on the Turret Stairs is unlocked by a medieval Danish ballad – and why the painting can only be viewed for two hours every week.

Forget Romeo and Juliet or Rose and Jack: Frederic William Burton’s achingly beautiful depiction of Hellelil and Hildebrand’s last moment together will stay with you forever. So say the painting’s many new fans on social media, where it has been stratospherically popular. Though it dates back to the 19th Century, a surge of TikTok videos about viewing The Meeting on the Turret Stairs – both online and in real life – has gone viral, describing the painting as “a breathless moment” and “life changing”.

The tragic details surrounding the death of “Deadliest Catch” cast member Todd Meadows have been revealed.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Coast Guard told Page Six that on Feb. 25 just after 5 p.m. local time, watch standers at the Arctic District command center in Juneau, Alaska, were notified by the fishing vessel Aleutian Lady that 25-year-old Meadows, a crew member, had fallen overboard approximately 170 miles north of Dutch Harbor.

We’re told Meadows was recovered from the water by crew members about 10 minutes later. He was unresponsive, so they administered first aid and attempted to resuscitate him but were unsuccessful.

The crew then transported Meadows’ body to Dutch Harbor.

The USCG spokesperson added that the organization is currently investigating the situation, as it does with all marine casualties and accidents to uncover their causes and initiate necessary corrective actions.

Captain Rick Shelford announced the rookie deckhand’s death in a heartbreaking Facebook post over the weekend, describing it as “the most tragic day in the history of the Aleutian Lady on the Bering Sea.”

Notably, the Bering Sea is known for its shallow depth, volatile weather and extremely cold sea temperatures, making it one of the most dangerous bodies of water in the world.

In his post, Shelford referred to Meadows — who was “the newest member of [their] crew” — as a “brother.”

“His love for fishing and his strong work ethic earned everyone’s respect right away. His smile was contagious, and the sound of his laughter coming up the wheelhouse stairs or over the deck hailer is something we will carry with us always,” Shelford shared.

“Todd’s love for his children, his family and his life was evident in everything he did. He worked hard, loved deeply and brought joy to those around him.”

Shelford noted that his heart is “broken in a way that words can’t fully express” before asking everyone to “lift Todd’s children and family in prayer and keep them in your thoughts as they face the days ahead without him.”

He concluded, “Todd will forever be part of this boat, this crew and this brotherhood. Though we lost him far too soon, his legacy will live on through his children and in every memory we carry of him. Rest easy brother, till we meet again.”

Sources previously told TMZ that Meadows “died in a fishing-related incident during filming,” while a GoFundMe later set up in his name elaborated that he was “crabbing out on Alaskan waters.”

Source : https://pagesix.com/2026/03/03/celebrity-news/tragic-details-of-deadliest-catch-star-todd-meadows-death-revealed/

The U.S. and Israeli air war against Iran widened on Monday, with no end in sight as Israel attacked Lebanon in response to strikes by Hezbollah ​and Iran kept up its attacks on Gulf states that host U.S. military bases.
U.S. President Donald Trump said the operation could continue for weeks and that it was unclear who was in charge in ‌Iran after the targeted killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the opening hours of the U.S.-Israel campaign over the weekend.

The attack on Iran has pitched the Gulf into war, killed scores of civilians in Iran, Israel and Lebanon, thrown global air transport into chaos and shut down shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, where one-fifth of the world’s oil trade skirts the Iranian coast, sending oil prices surging.
Underlining the risks, Kuwait mistakenly shot down three American F-15E fighter jets during an Iranian attack, U.S. Central Command said. All six crew members ejected and were safely recovered.
The U.S. military ​said it had struck more than 1,250 targets in Iran and destroyed 11 Iranian ships. Six U.S. service personnel have been killed so far, all in Iran’s retaliatory attacks over the weekend on Kuwait.

As night fell on Monday, Israel ​warned of imminent attacks on towns in Lebanon and said it had attacked the complex that houses Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB in Tehran. Explosions shook buildings across Tel Aviv as ⁠air defenses intercepted incoming Iranian missiles.
Early on Tuesday, two drones struck the U.S. embassy in Riyadh, causing minor damage and starting a fire, Saudi Arabia’s Defence Ministry said.
For Trump, joining Israel to attack Iran amounts to the biggest U.S. foreign policy gamble in decades and ​a major political risk for his Republican Party in this year’s midterm elections. Only one in four Americans support the Iran campaign, according to a weekend Reuters/Ipsos poll.
Average U.S. retail gasoline prices rose above $3 per gallon, in part due to the conflict, as Trump faces ​growing discontent over bread-and-butter issues.

WAR WIDENS TO LEBANON

Trump has said the U.S. faced an imminent threat from Iran that justified war, although he gave no specifics and some U.S. lawmakers said he has shown no evidence to back that assessment.
Before briefing lawmakers, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Monday the U.S. acted preemptively because it knew of its close ally Israel’s determination and plans to strike Iran.
“We knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces, and we knew that if we didn’t preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties,” Rubio said.
In ​his most extensive public comments so far on the conflict, Trump on Monday said he had ordered the attack to thwart Tehran’s nuclear program and a ballistic missile program that he said was growing rapidly.
Trump gave no sign that the operation would end ​soon, and military officials said more U.S. forces were being sent to the region.
“Right from the beginning, we projected four to five weeks, but we have capability to go far longer than that,” Trump said at the White House.

A new front in the war opened on ‌Monday when the ⁠Lebanese Hezbollah militia, one of Tehran’s principal allies in the Middle East, launched missiles and drones towards Israel.
Israel responded with sweeping airstrikes on the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut. The Lebanese state news agency NNA said at least 31 people had been killed and 149 injured.

STATE DEPARTMENT WARNING

The U.S. State Department on Monday urged Americans to immediately leave more than a dozen countries in the region, including every Gulf and Levant state, although airspace closures have made doing so neither easy nor cheap.
Turkey joined Russia and China in condemning the war, which President Tayyip Erdogan called a “clear violation” of international law.
Iran denies seeking a nuclear weapon, and it said the U.S. assault was unprovoked, occurring as Tehran negotiated a nuclear accord with Trump’s envoys. Trump withdrew from a prior international agreement ​curbing Iran’s nuclear program during his first term in 2018.
Ali ​Larijani, Iran’s top security official, said on social media that ⁠Iran would not negotiate with Trump, who had “delusional ambitions.”
Within Iran, where residents have jammed highways to flee the bombing, there was uncertainty about the future mixed with euphoria, apprehension and rage.
Many have openly celebrated the death of Khamenei, 86, who ruled since 1989 and directed security forces that killed thousands of anti-government protesters early this year.
But the conservative clerical leaders have shown no sign of yielding ​power, and military experts say airstrikes without ground forces may not be enough to drive them out, a possibility Trump said he had not ruled out.
Meanwhile, scores of Iranians have been ​reported killed in strikes, including several ⁠that hit apparent civilian targets.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-strikes-lebanon-following-hezbollah-attacks-widening-iran-conflict-2026-03-02/

Lebanon’s government on Monday banned military activities by Hezbollah after it opened fire on Israel to avenge the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, a move ‌likely to fuel tension with the Tehran-backed group as it faces a new Israeli offensive.
The government’s decision, which was rejected by a senior Hezbollah politician, underlined a dramatic shift in Lebanon’s power balance since the once-dominant group was pummelled by Israel during a war in 2024, reshaping politics in a country that suffered civil conflict from 1975-90.

Israel launched heavy airstrikes on the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut and more widely in Lebanon, in response to the Hezbollah drone and rocket strike, ​killing 52 people and wounding more than 150, according to a Lebanese health ministry official.

RESIDENTS FLEE, CLOGGING ROADS

Roads were jammed as people fled from targeted areas which bore the brunt of Israeli bombardment in ​2024.
The violence widened the conflict that has spread through the Middle East since the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday, prompting Iranian retaliatory ⁠strikes across the region.
Hezbollah, a Shi’ite Muslim group established by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in 1982, said its attack was to avenge “the pure blood” of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed ​on Saturday, and “in defence of Lebanon”.

It was Hezbollah’s first attack since the 2024 war, despite near-daily Israeli strikes targeting the group.
Israel held Hezbollah responsible for the escalation and declared Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem a “target ​for elimination”. The Israeli military said it had killed Hussein Makled, a top Hezbollah intelligence official.
There was no confirmation from the group.
Israel said no injuries or damage were reported from Hezbollah’s attacks.
“We have launched an offensive campaign against Hezbollah … We must prepare for many prolonged days of combat ahead,” Israeli Chief of the General Staff Eyal Zamir said.

DISREGARD FOR THE ‘MAJORITY OF LEBANESE’

In a statement after a cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Hezbollah’s attack showed disregard ​for “the will of the majority of Lebanese” and that Lebanon rejected being dragged into the regional conflict.

The state, he said, rejected any military actions launched from Lebanon “outside the framework of its legitimate institutions ​and affirmed that the decision of war and peace is exclusively in its hands”.
This “necessitates the immediate prohibition of all Hezbollah’s security and military activities as being outside the law, and obliging it to hand over its ‌weapons to the ⁠Lebanese state”, he said.
Senior Hezbollah politician Mohammed Raad, in a written statement issued by the group, said there was no justification for the “government to take bold and confrontational measures against Lebanese citizens who reject occupation”.
In 2008, an attempt by the Lebanese government to outlaw Hezbollah’s military telecom network led to armed conflict, during which Hezbollah fighters took over parts of Beirut.
Paul Salem of the Middle East Institute think-tank said the decision was historic but implementing it would be challenging.
“A clash is possible, and maybe a clash here and there is necessary if the state is going to behave like a state and ​implement its laws,” he said.
“The state is not ​interested in confrontation – they are very aware ⁠of the risks, and they are not going to seek a broad confrontation – but this sends an important signal to Hezbollah that they have gone way beyond the pale,” he said.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-military-says-projectiles-were-fired-lebanon-2026-03-01/

A grandson of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the late founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, is likely to figure prominently in the deliberations of the clerics who will determine who replaces Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as Supreme Leader.
The killing of Khamenei, 86, in a U.S.-Israeli attack has brought new urgency to the question of who will be the next Supreme Leader, a long-simmering issue over which there had been no clarity despite his age.

Hassan Khomeini is the most visible of the late Ayatollah’s 15 grandchildren and is seen as a relative moderate within Iran’s clerical establishment. He enjoys close ties to reformists including former presidents Mohammed Khatami and Hassan Rouhani, who both pursued policies of engagement with the West when in office.
Khomeini, 53, holds a symbolically important role in public life as custodian of his grandfather’s mausoleum in southern Tehran. He has never served in government.
Some politicians inside Iran have seen him as a rival to hardliners who gained sway under Khamenei, notably his son, Mojtaba.

The case for installing a moderate successor to Khamenei gained momentum among some Iranian politicians in the wake of unrest that swept Iran in January as a means of shoring up the Islamic Republic in the face of widening dissent.

KHOMEINI DEMANDED ACCOUNTABILITY FOR AMINI’S DEATH

While loyal to the Islamic Republic established after the Shah was toppled in 1979, Khomeini has a track record of urging reform and has occasionally voiced dissent against authorities.
In 2021, he criticised the Guardian Council – the branch of Iran’s theocracy responsible for vetting presidential candidates – after it barred reformists from running.
The council’s move paved the way for the victory of hardliner Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in 2024.
“You can’t pick someone for me and tell me to vote for them!” Khomeini said at the time.
He also demanded accountability after Mahsa Amini, a young Iranian woman, died in 2022 after being taken into custody by morality police, accused of violating conservative dress codes – an incident that ignited countrywide protests.

Authorities “must transparently and precisely account for what has happened to this 22-year-old girl under the pretext of ‘guidance and education’,” he said.
But, reflecting his loyalty to the system, the mid-ranking cleric also criticised protesters who chanted against Khamenei.
During the unrest that swept Iran in December and January – the deadliest since the 1979 revolution – he rallied behind the establishment, accusing rioters of serving Israel, taking part in a pro-government march, and likening some of the violence to the actions of Islamic State.
In a condolence letter, Khomeini said Khamenei would forever “be the hero of the people of Iran and Muslims”, adding: “The noble people of Iran will once again walk the path of the Imam (Khomeini) by overcoming this incident.”

‘PROGRESSIVE THEOLOGIAN’

A close friend of Khomeini’s, speaking to Reuters in 2015, described him as a progressive theologian, especially when it comes to music, women’s rights, and social freedom. He follows trends on social media and is interested in Western philosophy as much as Islamic thought.

His wife, Sayyeda Fatima, is the daughter of an Ayatollah, and they have four children.
Some reformists urged him to run for the presidency in 2012, but he declined.
Khomeini supported the Rouhani government that negotiated the 2015 nuclear agreement, which eased sanctions in return for limits on the nuclear programme – until U.S. President Donald Trump tore it up in 2018.
He has spoken openly about economic hardships endured by Iranians during years of sanctions imposed over the nuclear programme.

BLOCKED FROM RUNNING FOR ASSEMBLY OF EXPERTS

A decade ago, Khomeini sought to run in an election for the Assembly of Experts, the body responsible for picking the Supreme Leader.
He secured an initial nod of approval for his candidacy from Khamenei, who reportedly gave his blessing while also cautioning Khomeini against doing any harm to his grandfather’s name. But he was later disqualified by the Guardian Council.
Though his religious credentials were cited for the disqualification – Khomeini holds the clerical rank of Hojatoleslam, one notch below Ayatollah – the move was seen as intended to head off a potential challenge by the reformist camp.
In 2008, he was widely regarded as criticising Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) when he said in an interview that those claiming loyalty to his grandfather’s legacy should follow his order that the military must stay out of politics. He nevertheless enjoys close ties to the Guards, an elite force tasked with safeguarding the Islamic Revolution.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/khameneis-death-brings-khomeinis-grandson-into-focus-2026-03-02/

Ukraine ​will complete the technical work needed to open negotiations on all topics for its European Union ‌accession process within days, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday.
Zelenskiy reiterated his call on the EU partners to agree on a firm date for Ukraine to join the bloc, saying that would provide an important guarantee of the ​country’s future security as Kyiv negotiates with Moscow to end the war.

“We are ready, but not all ​leaders of the European Union are… I mean, not everyone is ready to ⁠give Ukraine this opportunity,” Zelenskiy told reporters in a WhatsApp media chat.
Ukraine became a formal EU ​candidate country in the early days after Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
But so far, Kyiv’s progress ​through the existing EU process has been held up by Hungary, which has blocked the unanimous approval required to open formally each of the six so-called accession “clusters” of issues to be resolved.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has maintained the bloc’s closest ties ​with Russia and is facing key elections in April, has also derailed the latest EU aid package to Ukraine, worth 90 ​billion euros over this year and next.

Orban has accused Ukraine of stopping Russian oil supplies to Hungary via the Soviet-era Druzhba pipeline, which crosses ‌Ukraine. Ukraine ⁠says the pipeline was damaged by a Russian drone attack.

KYIV SEES EU MEMBERSHIP AS KEY FOR UKRAINE’S FUTURE

Kyiv sees membership in the bloc as key to its post-war future. A reference to Ukraine joining the EU at a specifically defined date is included in drafts of a 20-point ​peace plan that was ​agreed between Ukraine and ⁠the United States and is under negotiation with Russia.
EU officials have said that Ukraine, with a mixed record on transparency, corruption, and the rule of law, may need ​many years of reforms to meet the EU’s entry criteria.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-complete-preparation-days-start-eu-accession-talks-zelenskiy-says-2026-03-02/

A FORMER GOP staffer who allegedly mutilated herself in a fake anti-Trump attack is in active talks with prosecutors for a plea deal, which has pushed her case back, The U.S. Sun can reveal.

Natalie Greene, 27, an ex-law student, was found hogtied with multiple cuts and “Trump w***e” scrawled on her stomach.

She claimed three gun-wielding men attacked her at the Egg Harbor Township Nature Reserve in New Jersey.

But in a shocking twist, the Department of Justice (DOJ) alleged Greene staged the attack.

Authorities claim she paid $500 on July 21, 2025, for the unknown body modification artist to slash her face, neck, chest, back, and shoulders with a scalpel.

Horrific photographs released by police show her with deep red wounds.

She was arrested in November and has been charged with conspiracy and making false statements to law enforcement, according to court filings.

Greene is facing up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if she’s convicted on both counts.

But she’s keen to stay out of prison, according to the latest court filing obtained by The U.S. Sun.

Plea deal talks are heating up in the federal case, with prosecutors and her lawyers asking a judge to hit pause while they try to come to an agreement.

New job

A new court order has pushed the next court hearin back to March 31, 2026, giving both sides time to review fresh evidence and see if they can settle the case before it ever reaches a grand jury.

The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey signed off on the delay, saying the extra time serves the interests of justice.

There’s no agreement yet — but the filing makes clear the negotiations are active and could decide what happens next.

Greene, a former aide to U.S. Representative Jeff Van Drew, was released on a $200,000 unsecured bond following her initial court appearance.

During a later hearing, Camden federal Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Pascal approved her request to move to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where she allegedly has a job lined up.

She is now allowed to live with a childhood friend, Kristin Haughton-James, who is her legal custodian amid ongoing court proceedings.

Her lawyer said she will follow a curfew, keep electronic monitoring, and continue mental health treatment.

The attorney also claimed she had been receiving death threats and was struggling to find work in New Jersey.

The New York Post previously revealed that her friend Kristin, a mom of two, has had her own run-ins with the law, having been busted for cocaine and riding an unlicensed vehicle in the streets.

Google searches

Greene had previously been living with her ex-boyfriend’s mother, but her attorney described the situation as a “hell hole” and that she was keen to get out.

The U.S. Sun has reached out to Greene’s attorney for further comment.

When cops rushed to the scene after her alleged attack, they found Greene screaming and covered in lacerations.

Her hands and legs were hogtied with zip ties, with political slurs written on her body with a black marker, including: “TRUMP W***E” on her stomach and “Van Drew is a racist” on her back.

Investigators later traced the tattoo/body modification studio on her phone and uncovered a Reddit account that followed communities focused on body modification and scarification.

When federal agents searched the artist’s Pennsylvania studio, court records say they found a receipt showing Greene had paid for the cuts on her body.

Authorities also discovered that her alleged accomplice, who was not named in the complaint, had searched “zip ties near me” on a phone just two days before the staged attack.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/16022856/ex-gop-staffer-fake-anti-trump-attack-jail/

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing “supports Iran in defending its sovereignty” and urged the US and Israel to “immediately cease military operations”.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Iranian counterpart on a call Monday (Mar 2) that Beijing supports Tehran defending itself against US-Israeli strikes, as war spread across the Middle East.

Hundreds have died in Iran since Saturday when the United States and Israel began striking dozens of targets in the country.

Tehran responded by launching waves of missiles and drones at Israel, Gulf states and a British base in Cyprus.

Wang told Abbas Araghchi that Beijing “cherishes the traditional friendship between China and Iran, supports Iran in defending its sovereignty, security, territorial integrity, and national dignity, and supports Iran in protecting its legitimate rights and interests”, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

China had “urged the US and Israel to immediately cease military operations, avoid further escalation of tensions and prevent the conflict from spreading to the entire Middle East region”, Wang said according to CCTV.

In a separate phone call with Oman’s foreign minister, also on Monday, Wang accused the United States and Israel of “violating the purposes and principles of the UN charter” by “deliberately instigating a war against Iran”.

“China is also willing to play a constructive role, including upholding justice, striving for peace, and stopping the war through the platform of the UN Security Council,” Wang told Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi, CCTV reported.

And in another call with France’s Jean-Noel Barrot, Wang warned that the world risked “regression to the law of the jungle”.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/wang-yi-us-israel-iran-war-strikes-defence-5965156

The broader diplomatic climate can directly affect how Chinese Canadians feel, especially after a surge in anti-Asian hate during the COVID-19 pandemic, said one expert.

Wang Jing still remembers the dumplings she used to make in Beijing before moving to Canada in 2019.

This Chinese New Year, she found herself making them once again – but this time, with fellow parents and students from a wide range of backgrounds inside Selwyn House, a private English boys’ school in Montreal.

For Wang, sharing dumplings – which she tailored to appeal to a wide range of palettes – is about more than food.

It is about preserving tradition while building community in a country she now calls home.

“Chinese New Year … is the most important festival in China, and even though we are in Canada here, we hope we can share these traditional activities with the community around us,” said Wang, whose son attends the school.

These holiday celebrations come at a time of improving diplomatic relations between Canada and China.

TRADITION SHARED ACROSS CULTURES

The dumpling-making session at Selwyn House brought together Chinese and non-Chinese students alike, teaching them not only how to prepare a traditional dish but also the cultural significance behind it.

For many Chinese immigrants, the annual ritual of making dumplings is a way to reconnect with the culture of their birth country while forging new bonds in Canada.

At the school, the workshop has become a highlight of the school year.

Eden Schwartz, the school’s diversity, equity and inclusion coordinator, said families have played a central role in shaping the celebration.

“Part of my job is helping the students bring their cultural celebrations to life, but I really lean on them to see what they want to do,” she added.

“For the past three years, we’ve had families who’ve really just jumped in and taken control of the event and the boys love it.”

The dumpling workshop was just one of several Chinese New Year events at the school. Students also watched a lion dance performance, learned about the Chinese zodiac and walked through halls decorated with red lanterns.

GROWING RECOGNITION

Chinese New Year is not a statutory holiday in Canada, but it is officially recognised in British Columbia and in the city of Toronto. Some school boards also allow excused absences for students observing the holiday.

National recognition of the festival has grown alongside Canada’s Chinese population. For example, for the past 12 years, Canada Post has issued special stamps marking the occasion.

Meanwhile, the Chinese Canadian population has doubled from under one million in the mid-1990s to more than 1.7 million in 2021.

In Montreal, Chinese New Year events in Chinatown continue to draw expanding crowds of all ages and backgrounds, reflecting the city’s multicultural character.

THAW IN DIPLOMATIC TIES

This year’s celebrations also come amid shifting diplomatic relations between Canada and China, which have been strained since the 2018 arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou.

But in January, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited Beijing and met with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The two sides issued a joint statement announcing a new strategic partnership.

Paul Evans, professor emeritus at the University of British Columbia’s School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, described the move as measured.

“This was an important diversification of the areas in which Canada and China are going to try to cooperate (while) there’s recognition of guardrails. This isn’t a wide-open strategic alignment with China, but rather a partnership in some relatively carefully specified areas,” he added.

The meeting comes as Canada faces renewed economic pressure from the United States, including tariffs and political tensions.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/canada-montreal-chinese-new-year-celebrations-relations-china-5963621

Authorities have identified the two people fatally shot outside a bar in Austin, Texas when a gunman opened fire in the early hours of Sunday.

Ryder Harrington, 19, and Savitha Shan, 21, died in the shooting outside a beer garden popular with University of Texas students, police said. Of the more than a dozen others injured in the shooting, two were still in critical condition.

Officials said the two victims were students but could not yet confirm which university they attended.

The alleged gunman, Ndiaga Diagne, was shot and killed by police. The FBI said it was looking into a potential “nexus of terrorism” link to the war in Iran, among other possibilities.

After responding to calls of an active shooter at around 02:00 local time (08:00 GMT) on Sunday near Buford’s bar in Austin, police said they shot and killed the suspect.

Diagne was a naturalised American citizen born in Senegal, according to the BBC’s US partner CBS News.

“We recognise that this is a very traumatic moment in our city,” Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said in briefing on Monday, adding: “I cannot imagine the grief, pain and loss these families are feeling today, and my heart is with them.”

Two sources familiar with the investigation told CBS News that the gunman was wearing a sweatshirt with the words “Property of Allah”.

CBS was also told by an official with knowledge of the investigation that officers who searched the gunman’s home found an Iranian flag and pictures of Iranian leaders.

The attack came on the weekend that the US and its ally Israel launched multiple strikes on Iran, killing its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott said federal and state officials would investigate whether the violence had any connections to terrorism.

“We will not rest until every last trail or piece of information is pursued to determine if there’s anybody else involved in this whatsoever,” the governor said in a news briefing on Monday.

“And if so, obviously, we will track them down, find them, and bring them to justice.”

In an earlier briefing, Police Chief Davis said officers who were on patrol in the more popular, crowded bar district known as East Sixth Street quickly responded to reports of a man with a gun at Buford’s, located farther down on West Sixth Street.

She said a man in a large SUV driving by Buford’s put on the vehicle’s hazard lights, rolled down his window and fired a pistol, striking people on the patio and pavement outside the bar.

He parked the vehicle nearby, got out with a rifle and started walking back towards the bar, according to Davis. Three police officers confronted the suspect at an intersection, and shot and killed him.

The SUV was searched and was not carrying explosives, officials said.

However, Acting Special Agent in Charge Alex Doran, from the FBI’s San Antonio office, said there were indications in the SUV and on the suspect that suggested a “nexus to terrorism”.

But Doran said the investigation was in its early stages and he was “not prepared to release those details”.

“We are committed to seeing this process through to the very end,” he said.

Kelson Lee, 25, was within earshot when gunfire erupted at Buford’s. He walked inside to look for a friend, according to the Austin Current.

“I see about seven to eight bodies on the floor,” Lee told the local news outlet. “No-one should ever have to see that.

“I kind of blacked out, froze up. I felt kind of helpless because I wanted to help people.”

Republican Senator Ted Cruz, who represents Texas, condemned the deadly attack in a post on social media on Sunday.

“What happened early this morning in Austin was a senseless act of violence. My team and I are co-ordinating with local, state, and federal authorities,” he wrote.

“I’m grateful for the heroic and quick response from law enforcement.”

Davis said that because of increased police and emergency resources in the entertainment area over the weekend, they were able to “rapidly” respond to the scene.

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson also praised the response by police and rescuers, which officials said took 57 seconds. “I’m very thankful for the speed,” he said. “They definitely saved lives.”

The shooting took place in the days ahead of the international SXSW festival, and authorities plan to provide updates at another briefing on Thursday.

Austin is home to both the Texas capitol and one of the state’s largest public universities, the University of Texas, which is less than two miles (3.2km) from Buford’s.

East Sixth Street and West Sixth Street are popular destinations for the roughly 55,000 students, who frequent the area most weekends.

Jim Davis, president of the University of Texas, said in a statement: “Our prayers are with the victims and all those impacted, including members of our Longhorn family, and my heart goes out to their families, friends, classmates, professors, and loved ones.”

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgjznzgly0po

India and Canada have announced a host of agreements, including a 10-year nuclear energy deal, after their prime ministers met in Delhi to reset ties that plummeted due to diplomatic tensions.

Narendra Modi and Mark Carney also struck agreement in areas such as technology, critical minerals, space, defence and education.

Carney said they agreed to conclude a free trade deal, years in the making, by the end of 2026. Both countries want to reduce exposure to punitive US trade tariffs.

Under Carney, the two governments are trying to repair ties that were strained when his predecessor accused Delhi of a link to the 2023 assassination of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil.

India vociferously rejected the allegation by Justin Trudeau.

Trade and diplomatic relations almost came to a standstill as both sides expelled each other’s diplomats and cancelled visa services. Canada hosts a huge expatriate Indian community.

But since Carney took office last year, the relationship has been cautiously rebuilt —helped by the fact that his government has said it believes India is not currently linked to violent crimes or threats on Canadian soil.

Some in Canada have countered that claim, however, including a Liberal MP from Carney’s own party and members of the Sikh diaspora in Canada, who say they believe they continue to be targeted by India.

Canada’s spy agency listed India late last year as one of the countries carrying out espionage and foreign interference in the country, along with Russia, China and Iran.

In a statement on Monday, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service said its “threat assessment of the main perpetrators of foreign interference and espionage against Canada has not changed”.

Canada’s foreign minister Anita Anand has distanced herself from comments made by a senior Canadian official saying that India had ceased all foreign interference in Canada.

“The words of the senior official are not words that I personally would use,” she told reporters in Delhi after Carney’s meeting with Modi on Monday.

But Anand defended Canada’s decision to re-engage with India, saying “we need to have these diplomatic conversations in order to make progress”.

Carney has not yet spoken to Canadian reporters since his trip began. His office cancelled a planned news conference following the meeting with Modi, citing his tight schedule.

The case of four men charged over Nijjar’s killing is still before the courts.

At talks in Delhi, both Carney and Modi underscored India and Canada’s long-standing relationship, mutual goals and close people-to-people ties.

“In civil nuclear energy, we have reached a landmark deal for long-term uranium supply. We will also work together on small modular reactors and advanced reactors,” Modi told reporters after their meeting at Hyderabad House in Delhi.

He described the two countries as “natural partners in technology and innovation” and said they would enhance co-operation in AI, supercomputing and semiconductors, as well as jointly host a renewable energy summit.

Carney said Canada was well positioned to contribute to energy-hungry India’s nuclear fuel needs and added that the two countries were launching a strategic energy partnership.

He hailed the progress made in rebuilding relations.

“There has been more engagement between the Canadian and Indian governments in the last year than there has been in more than two decades combined,” he said.

On trade, Modi said: “Our target is to reach $50bn in bilateral trade. This is why we have decided to finalise a comprehensive economic partnership soon.”

Carney said he wanted to reach a deal on the “ambitious agreement” by the end of the year. It’s been discussed on-and-off for the past 15 years so concluding it would be a significant achievement.

Analysts say that Carney’s decision to put diplomatic tensions behind him and extend an olive branch to India is a pragmatic one, based on present day geopolitical shifts.

The same holds true for India, which is looking to forge new trade partnerships to diversify its imports and also reduce its reliance on Russia for its energy needs.

Surveys suggest a majority of the Canadian public support re-engaging with India. One recent poll conducted by Angus Reid found that half believe it is the “right time” to restore ties.

The poll also suggests that more Canadians have a favourable view of India (30%) than of the US (26%), as Canada continues to be squeezed by tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx24gl7jrgno

Beijing has strongly criticized the killings of Iranian leaders by the US and Israel, warning against “the law of the jungle” in international relations. But China can also apply the lessons of Iran to its Taiwan plans.

China has condemned the ongoing US-Israel war against Iran and the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with Beijing calling it “a serious violation of Iran’s sovereignty and security” which tramples “on the aims and principles of the UN Charter and the basic norms of international relations.”

Naturally, Chinese concerns reach beyond the respect for international law — Iran is one of China’s most important suppliers of oil and natural gas.

According to estimates, as much as 90% of Iranian oil production is exported to China, most of it via third countries, to avoid tough international sanctions on Iran.

And since April 2025, Iranian oil exports have even been settled in renminbi, the Chinese currency, due to Iran being excluded from the international SWIFT payment system.

Ties between China and Iran go beyond oil sales

The ongoing conflict has also put the spotlight on the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway that lies between Oman and Iran, and connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.

About 20% of the world’s oil consumption, or some 20 million barrels of crude, condensate and fuels, is transported via the waterway every day. Around half of that goes to energy-hungry China.

Beijing therefore views any long-term closure of the strait as a threat to its energy security. Since the US-Israeli attacks began over the weekend, commercial traffic through the waterway has virtually come to a halt.

In addition to energy, Iran and China share close political ties. Iran has been a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a security alliance led by China and Russia, since 2023, and a member of BRICS+, a grouping of the world’s largest emerging economies, since 2024.

The “blatant killing” of a sovereign head of state and incitement to regime change are unacceptable, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a phone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Sunday.

He pointed out that the US-Israeli joint operation began even as US and Iranian officials were in the midst of negotiations to find a diplomatic solution.

Merz says US tried diplomacy

US allies Germany, France and the UK have not spoken out against the attack on Iran, choosing to jointly condemn the Iranian response instead.

“The US spent weeks seeking a negotiated solution with Iran. However, in talks in Oman and Switzerland, the Iranian side did not agree to a comprehensive, reliable, and verifiable agreement to end its military nuclear program,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Saturday.

Iran has not committed to scaling back its ballistic missile program or to ending its destabilizing activities in the region and beyond, Merz added.

Ahead of his incoming trip to Washington, the German chancellor refrained from directly criticizing the US and Israel, stressing that he did not want to lecture anyone.

“Classifications under international law will have relatively little effect. This is all the more true when they remain largely inconsequential,” Merz said on Sunday.

Is Iran protected by international law?

Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said the German government wants to examine whether this situation legally justifies launching an armed attack against Iran.

However, for Christoph Safferling, an international law expert at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany, international law is quite clear.

“There is a comprehensive prohibition on the use of force. The territorial independence and political integrity of a sovereign state must be respected at all costs. And we do not see that here,” he told German public broadcaster ARD. “These air strikes attack Iran as a sovereign state and are therefore, first and foremost, contrary to international law.”

The arguments put forward by the US could just as easily be used by Russia to justify its war against Ukraine, said Safferling.

‘Law of the jungle’

US-Israeli actions against Iran come weeks after the US military captured Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro in an audacious raid and whisked him to New York to face drug-trafficking charges.

Maduro’s capture by the US also triggered concern in Beijing.

“The year 2026 did not exactly get off to a good start,” Chinese President Xi Jinping said during his meeting with German Chancellor Merz last week.

International conflicts are too deeply intertwined, Xi said, adding that the world is facing a turning point with dramatic upheavals.

Now, against the volatile geopolitical backdrop, Beijing is warning against the “law of the jungle” and urging major powers not to “arbitrarily attack other countries based on their military superiority.”

China gets chance to boost its global image

Beijing says it, unlike Washington, wants to strengthen the United Nations and boost its ties with Europe. In view of these ambitions, the US-Israel attack on Iran gives China a perfect opportunity to stir up sentiment against its biggest rival and thus challenge its claim to global leadership.

The UN is supposed to ensure that the use of armed force in international affairs is governed by rules, and not applied arbitrarily.

However, the attack on Iran also gives China a different path to protect its interests. For example, if China were to apply Trump’s arguments, Beijing would be allowed to cross the Taiwan Strait and attack the self-governed democratic island at any time, claiming self-defense.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/can-china-benefit-from-the-us-israel-war-with-iran/a-76187914

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, surrounded by bodyguards, spoke to NDTV as he walked among debris in Israel’s Beit Shemesh, where Iranian strikes on a synagogue killed nine people

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today told NDTV he spoke to his “great friend” Prime Minister Narendra Modi and thanked him for standing with Israel amid tensions in the Middle East.

Netanyahu, surrounded by bodyguards, walked among debris in Israel’s Beit Shemesh, where Iranian strikes on a synagogue killed nine people.

“I spoke to our great friend, Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I spoke to him at length yesterday and thanked him for his standing with Israel, standing for the truth, and for the enormous friendship of the people of India,” Netanyahu told NDTV.

“They are much admired and loved in Israel. I won’t get into the details of the conversation, but I have spoken to him, and I have spoken to many other leaders in the region and beyond,” he added.

The two leaders are known to share a good personal rapport. India and Israel also have deep ties in trade, defence and people to people connections.

Earlier today, the Israeli prime minister said the joint US-Israeli campaign against Iran aimed in part to create the conditions for Iranians to oust their leadership, adding that the time was approaching for them to do so.

“That day is drawing near. And when it comes, Israel and the United States will be there, together with the Iranian people. And it is important that the Iranian people be there with us. That depends on them, we will be there,” Netanyahu told reporters from the site hit by an Iranian missile.

Since the joint strikes began on Saturday, Netanyahu has said it is time for Iranians to “cast off the yoke of tyranny” and US President Donald Trump has told them to “take back your country.”

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/spoke-to-great-friend-pm-modi-thanked-him-for-standing-with-israel-netanyahu-to-ndtv-11160047?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

Rubio denied regime change is the goal, even though the US-Israeli strikes have taken out Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and dozens of other top leaders.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US military would step up its military attacks against Iran, a stark warning after two days of strikes across the country that the Trump administration says took out its leadership and crippled its ballistic-missile program.

“I’m not going to give away the details of our tactical efforts, but the hardest hits are yet to come from the US military,” Rubio told reporters on Capitol Hill. “The next phase will be even more punishing on Iran than it is right now.”

Rubio was on the Hill to brief members of Congress on President Donald Trump’s campaign along with Israel to target Iran. He offered more clarity on the US objectives, saying the focus was to destroy the country’s Navy and attack drones, as well as its ballistic missile program, which it was using as a shield to fuel its nuclear ambitions.

Iran has long insisted that it didn’t want to build a nuclear bomb. While its ballistic missiles are capable of hitting US forces in the region as well as American allies, it didn’t have the capability to target the US directly.

Rubio denied regime change is the goal, even though the US-Israeli strikes have taken out Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and dozens of other top leaders. He said there were currently no diplomatic exchanges happening with Iran.

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/us-news/hardest-hits-yet-to-come-marco-rubio-us-big-warning-for-iran-amid-middle-east-conflict-101772487971723.html

Sean “Diddy” Combs will be released from prison a month and a half early amid his battle to appeal his four-year sentence.

Page Six can exclusively reveal that Combs’ prison release date has been pushed up from June 4, 2028, to April 25, 2028, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

This comes after Combs was accepted into a drug-abuse rehabilitation program in November, which could help shorten his sentence.

A rep for Diddy explained in a statement at the time of the rapper’s acceptance to the program, “Mr. Combs is an active participant in the Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP) and has taken his rehabilitation process seriously from the start. He is fully engaged in his work, focused on growth, and committed to positive change.”

A lawyer and rep for Diddy did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.

This isn’t the first time Combs’ release date has been changed. The music executive — who has been serving time at Fort Dix Federal Correctional Institute in New Jersey — initially had his sentence increased from May 8, 2028, to June 4, 2028 in November 2025.

The November 2025 sentence was adjusted after the “I’ll Be Missing You” hitmaker allegedly violated multiple prison rules.

TMZ reported that same month that Combs got in “trouble with prison officials” for consuming “homemade alcohol.”

CBS News reported that Combs had been busted again for allegedly participating in a three-way phone call, which is prohibited.

The disgraced music mogul claimed to have not known that “third party or three-way calls are not authorized.”

His rep denied the “procedural call” was “improper,” defending it as “protected under attorney-client privilege.”

The new release date comes as Combs filed to appeal his four-year sentence in December.

Lawyers demanded his immediate release and either reversal of the conviction or a reduced sentence, according to appeal court papers.

In the court papers, Combs claims prosecutors failed to prove their case against him, while his lawyer claimed the judge in the case imposed a harsh sentence that violated his constitutional rights.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2026/03/02/celebrity-news/sean-diddy-combs-lands-early-prison-release-as-he-fights-to-appeal-prison-sentence/

Australia said on Monday it would not take part in any military operations in Iran, ruling out deploying troops to the Middle East if the conflict escalates, as Israel launched fresh strikes on Tehran and Iran responded with more missile attacks.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in an attack on Saturday, while the United States reported its first casualties in the war as U.S. President Donald Trump hinted the conflict could last for four more weeks.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Canberra would not get involved.
“Australia is not central to the issues in the Middle East. We didn’t participate in these strikes and we wouldn’t anticipate participating in the future,” Wong told Channel Nine on Monday.
Wong said the Australian government was in discussions with airlines to help Australians stranded in the Middle East but acknowledged that evacuation plans would be difficult while airspace across much of the region remained closed.
“We understand how distressing and challenging this time is, and we will do all that we can to provide you with information and to support you. The situation is very challenging,” Wong earlier told reporters in Canberra.

About 115,000 Australians were in the region and the most viable option to get them home would be when commercial airlines resumed services, Wong said. She declined to say whether the government was planning repatriation flights.
“There is conflict in the region, we’ve seen loss of life across the region and airspace is not open. So whether or not it is an Australian flight or a commercial flight, the flights are not able to occur,” Wong said.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/australia-rules-out-military-role-iran-conflict-2026-03-02/

Israel carried out airstrikes on the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut on Monday, after the Iran-backed group launched missiles and drones towards Israel to avenge the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
More than a dozen explosions rocked Beirut, in the most intensive strikes on the southern suburbs since a war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2024. People fled on foot and by car, clogging the roads, after the series of strikes began around 2:40 a.m. (0040 GMT).

The violence widened the conflict that has spread through the Middle East since the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday. Hezbollah, a Shi’ite Muslim group established by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in 1982, is one of Tehran’s principal allies in the Middle East.
The Israeli military said it had begun striking Hezbollah targets across Lebanon, including senior Hezbollah members in the Beirut area. Lebanese security sources said the airstrikes hit several areas of the southern suburbs, known as Dahiyeh.
“Hezbollah opened a campaign against Israel overnight, and is fully responsible for any escalation,” Israeli Chief of the General Staff, Eyal Zamir, said in a statement.

The Israeli military issued a warning ordering residents of dozens of villages in southern and eastern Lebanon to evacuate.
The Lebanese health ministry could not immediately be reached for a casualty toll.
The Israeli military said several projectiles that crossed from Lebanon fell in open areas and one was intercepted by the Israeli airforce.
“No injuries or damages were reported,” it said.

HEZBOLLAH CLAIMS ATTACK

Hezbollah said it had targeted an Israeli military missile defence facility south of the city of Haifa in revenge for “the pure blood” of Khamenei and in response to what it described as repeated Israeli attacks.
It was the first time the group has carried out such an attack since the 2024 war.
“The resistance leadership has always emphasised that the continuation of Israeli attacks and the assassination of our leaders, youth, and people gives us the right to defend ourselves and respond at the appropriate time and place,” Hezbollah said in a statement.

Since a U.S.-backed ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon in 2024, Israel has carried out regular strikes against what it has identified as Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, accusing the group of seeking to rearm.
It was Israel’s first attack on the southern suburbs since it killed the group’s top military official, Ali Tabtabai, in November.
Israel also carried out airstrikes in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon, the Lebanese security sources said.

LEBANESE PM CRITICISES FIRING OF MISSILES FROM LEBANON

“The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) will operate against Hezbollah’s decision to join the campaign, and will not enable the organization to constitute a threat to the State of Israel,” the Israeli military said.
Israel and Lebanon agreed to a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in 2024, ending more than a year of fighting between Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah that had culminated in Israeli strikes that severely weakened the Iran-backed group. Since then,

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-military-says-projectiles-were-fired-lebanon-2026-03-01/

A wave of cyber-enabled operations took place early Saturday morning alongside the joint U.S.-Israeli attack on targets across Iran, according to cybersecurity experts and observers.
The operations included the hacking of multiple news websites to display various messages and the hack of BadeSaba, a religious calendar app with more than 5 million downloads, which displayed messages telling users “It’s time for reckoning” and urging armed forces to give up weapons and join the people.

A spokesperson for U.S. Cyber Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Internet connectivity in Iran dropped precipitously at 0706 GMT, and then again at 1147 GMT, with only minimal connectivity remaining, Doug Madory, director of internet analysis at Kentik, said in a post on X.
The cyberattack on BadeSaba was a smart move because government supporters use it and they tend to be more religious, said Hamid Kashfi, a security researcher and founder of cybersecurity firm DarkCell.
Cyber operations also struck a variety of Iranian government services and military targets to limit a coordinated Iranian response, the Jerusalem Post reported on Saturday. Reuters has not been able to independently verify the claims.

“As Iran considers its options, the likelihood increases that proxy groups and hacktivists may take action, including cyberattacks, against Israeli and U.S.-affiliated military, commercial, or civilian targets,” said Rafe Pilling, the director of threat intelligence with cybersecurity firm Sophos.
The attacks could include the amplification of old data breaches presented as new, unsophisticated attempts to compromise internet-exposed industrial systems, and potentially direct offensive cyber operations, Pilling said.
Activity in the Middle East has increased, said Cynthia Kaiser, a former top FBI cyber official and current senior vice president at anti-ransomware firm Halcyon. Kaiser said the firm has also seen calls to action from known pro-Iranian cyber personas who in the past have carried out hack-and-leak operations, ransomware attacks and distributed denial-of-service attacks (DDoS), which flood internet services rendering them inaccessible.
The current cyber activity may precede more aggressive operations, said Adam Meyers, senior vice president of counter adversary operations with CrowdStrike (CRWD.O).

“CrowdStrike is already seeing activity consistent with Iranian-aligned threat actors and hacktivist groups conducting reconnaissance and initiating DDoS attacks,” he said.
Cybersecurity firm Anomali said in an analysis shared with Reuters on Saturday that state-backed Iranian hacking groups were already carrying out “wiper” attacks that erase data on Israeli targets ahead of the strikes.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/hackers-hit-iranian-apps-websites-after-us-israeli-strikes-2026-03-01/

Following the assassination of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei in a US-Israel airstrike, Iran raised a red “flag of revenge” at Jamkaran Mosque, symbolising a call for retaliation in Shia tradition.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain is not involved in strikes on Iran but has allowed the US to use British bases for defensive action against missile threats. He stressed the UK supports collective defence while pushing for a negotiated solution to the Middle East crisis.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday (local time) said that the UK will permit the United States to use British bases for a “specific and limited defensive purpose” to counter Iranian missile threats, adding that London is not joining offensive strikes against Iran.

This comes after a joint missile strike titled Operation Roaring Lion/Operation Epic Fury by Israel and the United States on Iran on February 28.

Sharing a video message on X addressing escalating tensions in the Gulf, Starmer said, “Yesterday, I spoke to you about the situation in the Gulf and explained that the United Kingdom was not involved in the strikes on Iran. That remains the case.”

Concern over attacks and British citizens

Amid attacks, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was moved to a secure location.

The United States and Israel carried out coordinated military strikes on Iran on Saturday, February 28. Reports indicate that the first attacks targeted areas near the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran. He was later reported to be moved to a different, secure location.

The strikes have ignited widespread concern about the possibility of a broader regional war.

As news of the strikes spreads, attention has turned to the predictions of Baba Vanga, the blind Bulgarian mystic who passed away in 1996. Over the years, she has been credited with foreseeing major global events, and many followers believe her prophecy of a “Great War” in early 2026 (originating from the East) may be coming true.

US-Iran Tensions: Could The Baba Vanga Prophecy Be Unfolding?

With Iran now engaging in retaliatory actions following the US-Israel strikes, people on social media are linking the latest tensions between the two nations with Vanga’s predictions.

Supporters of her prophecies suggest that the unfolding conflict could spread gradually across the world.

Impact Of The War: Which Regions Could Be Affected?

According to Vanga’s prophecy, the conflict is expected to hit the western parts of the world the hardest, with Europe bearing the brunt of the devastation. She predicted that the land in Europe could go completely barren and unstable in the aftermath. This could create widespread economic and social challenges.

At the same time, she predicted that Russia would emerge as a major global power which would potentially reshape the balance of international influence following the conflict.

Joint Military Strikes: US And Israel Take Action Against Iran

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel, in coordination with US has launched a military operation targeting Iran. He described the strikes as a crucial measure to neutralise what he called an “existential nuclear threat” from the Iranian regime.

Netanyahu praised US President Donald Trump’s leadership and stated that the objective of the operation is to prevent Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons and to create conditions that could allow the Iranian people to challenge their government.

Trump’s Message To Iran And Iranians

Trump also issued a statement confirming the US was carrying out strikes in Iran. “In advance of the investigation, we launched extensive military operations in Iran. Our goal is to protect the people of America by eliminating the imminent threats from its own regime, Iran,” he said.

He also warned the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard and offered total immunity if they lay down arms or promising “certain death” if they resist. Trump also addressed the Iranian population, saying, “When we are finished, take over your government — it will be yours to take. This will probably be your only chance for generations.”

Source : https://www.news18.com/viral/israel-iran-war-baba-vanga-terrifying-prophecy-coming-true-aa-9935396.html

Prime Minister Modi said he conveyed India’s concerns over the latest developments and highlighted the importance of protecting civilians.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu amid the current regional situation in West Asia. The conversation took place as tensions continue to rise across the region following recent military developments.

India stresses civilian safety concerns

In a post on X, Prime Minister Modi said he conveyed India’s concerns over the latest developments and highlighted the importance of protecting civilians.

“Had a telephone call with PM Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the current regional situation. Conveyed India’s concerns over recent developments and emphasised the safety of civilians as a priority. India reiterates the need for an early cessation of hostilities,” the Prime Minister wrote.

Source : https://www.news18.com/world/pm-modi-speaks-to-netanyahu-calls-for-early-end-to-hostilities-in-west-asia-9937186.html 

Pak called US-Israel attacks on Iran unwarranted; it called Iran’s retaliation “violations of sovereignty”. Decoding Islamabad’s response, ties with all players – US, Iran, Saudi

Although not a direct participant in the US-Israel war against Iran, Pakistan finds itself in a unique position. While the country has ties with both the United States and Iran, which it even shares a boundary with, it has a defence pact with Saudi, which has tacitly supported America, according to reports.

News18 decodes Pakistan’s response of official condemnation and diplomatic caution.

The key players in the war

A major military confrontation erupted between the United States, Israel, and Iran after coordinated US–Israeli strikes hit Iranian territory, drawing strong Iranian retaliation with missile and drone attacks across the region. The conflict has triggered broader instability in the Middle East, with Iran declaring reprisals and continuing attacks on US and Israeli bases, raising fears of a wider regional war.

How Pakistan has responded to the war

In a delicate balancing act, Pakistan condemned the initial U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on Friday that triggered the retaliation, calling them “unwarranted attacks”.

As Iran struck back, targeting Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its Permanent Representative to the UN formally condemned Tehran’s retaliation too, calling it “blatant violations of sovereignty”.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also telephoned Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to pledge “full solidarity” and reiterate the terms of the mutual defense pact. Pakistan specifically highlighted the death of a Pakistani national in the UAE during these attacks.

Saudi Arabia amid US-Israel-Iran war

Saudi Arabia’s relationship with the U.S. during the current 2026 conflict is extremely complicated, characterised by private alignment and public distance.

Publicly, Saudi Arabia has taken a firm stance to avoid being dragged into a direct war with Iran. In the weeks leading up to the February 2026 strikes, Riyadh officially informed both Iran and the U.S. that it would not allow its airspace or territory to be used for military actions against Tehran. Saudi officials emphasised that they do not want their land to serve as a launchpad for attacks, fearing that involvement would turn their oil fields into primary targets for Iranian retaliation, according to Reuters.

However, according to The Washington Post, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) reportedly made several private phone calls to US President Donald Trump over the past month, pushing for a strike on Iran while publicly endorsing diplomacy.

Saudi Arabia is part of a “complex role” where it reportedly coordinated with the U.S. and Israel to share data on Iranian leadership and infrastructure targets, even while officially staying out of the combat, according to reports.

President Trump called MBS on March 1 to affirm that the United States “stands alongside the Kingdom” and supports all measures Saudi Arabia takes to defend itself. In January 2026, just before the conflict escalated, the U.S. formally designated Saudi Arabia as a Major Non-NATO Ally, deepening their legal and military partnership. Under the new U.S.-Saudi Strategic Defense Agreement (SDA), the two countries have committed to nearly $1 trillion in investments, including sales of F-35 jets and hundreds of tanks to bolster Saudi defences.

Why has Pakistan not declared a war?

Pakistan is in a Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement (SMDA) with Saudi, which has the “attack on one is an attack on both”. Then why has it prioritised solidarity over military action?

Pakistan shares historical, cultural, economic, and diplomatic ties with Iran. Islamabad and Tehran have maintained bilateral engagement, including high-level visits and cooperation on regional issues, and Iran has publicly commended Pakistan’s support during past regional crises, highlighting the traditionally friendly relationship.

While Trump was once sharply critical of Islamabad during his first term, more recent interactions have reportedly been warmer, with Trump referring to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as a “friend” in diplomatic exchanges — signaling a reset built around strategic interests rather than past grievances. A key emerging area is critical minerals and rare earth cooperation. As global competition intensifies over supply chains dominated by China, Pakistan has highlighted its untapped mineral reserves — particularly in Balochistan — positioning itself as a potential alternative partner for Western supply diversification. This has opened conversations around investment, extraction partnerships, and broader economic engagement.

At the same time, Pakistan continues to seek security cooperation and counterterrorism coordination; trade access and economic stabilization support; diplomatic backing amid regional tensions. For Washington — especially under a Trump-style “America First” lens — engagement with Pakistan is viewed through strategic leverage: Afghanistan spillover risks, counterterrorism intelligence, competition with China, and regional stability involving Iran and the Gulf.

Entering a hot war with Iran is extremely dangerous for Islamabad, as the two share a long, volatile border. A conflict could ignite internal sectarian fault lines within Pakistan’s own population. Large-scale pro-Iran protests have broken out in Pakistani cities like Karachi and Lahore against the U.S.-Israeli strikes, making it politically difficult for the government to take direct military action against Iran.

Analysts note that while the pact with Saudi is formal, it is often viewed as a “political signal of solidarity” rather than an unconditional guarantee for automatic military escalation.

Source : https://www.news18.com/explainers/pakistan-in-war-crossfire-ties-with-us-iran-to-pact-with-saudi-islamabads-response-explained-ws-kl-9936831.html

AN internet investigator who helped expose a notorious online pedophile network is urging parents to stay vigilant as authorities ramp up fresh probes into the shadowy group.

Becca Spinks has told The U.S. Sun that her small team of citizen investigators were among the first to identify the scale of the terrifying network that would later be labeled as “764.”

The FBI has characterized the sprawling, digital gang as “online predators” who are now under scrutiny by federal authorities and members of Congress.

Spinks has been credited with helping draw attention to several alleged members, including 19-year-old Cameron Finnigan, who was sentenced in the United Kingdom to six years in prison in January 2025 after admitting to targeting children online for sexual blackmail and coercion.

She also played a prominent role in exposing another member, Kyle Spitze, for an alleged slew of sickening online crimes.

But the work has come at a personal cost.

Spinks says she relocated for the safety of her young daughter after receiving sustained threats from individuals she believes were connected to the 764 network.

“I think about quitting all the time,” she told The U.S. Sun. “It’s been a rollercoaster going from a normal mom to this.

“It’s a whirlwind I never expected. But I also strongly feel that I was put here for a reason. I believe I’m good at what I’m doing. So it’s hard for me to just walk away.”

Unlike traditional criminal organizations, 764, which the FBI describes as a “violent online group,” does not operate under a clear hierarchy.

Instead, it functions as a loose ecosystem of online communities that share tactics, exploitative material, and extremist themes.

The FBI say members have encouraged minors to produce explicit content, harm themselves, mutilate animals, and attempt suicide — often recording the acts for further coercion.

“They believe that by accelerating the collapse of society, they can get us to a different endpoint, which may be some kind of fascism or satanic cult ideology,” Spinks explains.

“But either way, the strategy is all the same. The reason they’re preying on our kids is because these are our children. What better way to attack a country or a culture than to subvert and corrupt our children?”

Disturbing network

The network is believed to have been started in 2021 by Texas school dropout Bradley Cadenhead.

The name 764 reportedly referenced zip codes connected to his hometown.

In 2023, Cadenhead was sentenced to 80 years in prison after pleading guilty to multiple counts related to child sexual abuse material.

Spinks’ background is in self-defense instruction and gun safety training.

For years, she focused on preparing women and children to protect themselves in the physical world.

But around 2020, she began realizing that the most serious threats facing children were in a digital realm.

“I’m used to teaching people how to defend themselves,” she said. “But at some point I realized there were dangers online that I didn’t even understand as a parent.”

Her research led her into private online channels where she says children were being manipulated into self-harm under threat of exposure.

She alleges members specifically targeted vulnerable teens struggling with mental health issues, isolating them and escalating demands over time.

“They spend their energy on kids who are already struggling,” she said. “It’s psychological warfare. It’s a terror attack on our children.”

“These are the types of kids who try to seek validation online,” Spinks continued.

”They are isolating themselves from their real-life peers and finding validation online, and these bad guys — these groomers and provocateurs — know exactly which type of kid they can influence the best and they spend their energy on them. It’s really sad.”

Increased danger

She is desperate to warn parents how to keep their loved ones safe.

“I say this all the time — there could be an issue anywhere your kids have unsupervised access to talk to strangers on the internet,” Spinks said

“Roblox, Instagram. If your kid has an Instagram account with open DMs, they have access to gaming servers.

“A lot of parents are shocked to hear that their kids can just wander around a virtual landscape and talk to strangers.

“There’s no difference between that and sending your kid out to a downtown area and letting them talk to strangers. It’s just as dangerous.”

Too many families, in her experience, “bury their heads in the sand” when it comes to online protection.

“This could happen to any kid,” she continued. “Number one is knowing what your kid is doing online and keeping them off of platforms where people can exploit them.

“Number two is having age-appropriate, open, honest discussions with your children about predators and how they work. Just like within the self-defense industry, eventually you have to teach your child to protect themselves to some degree, and that’s what we have to do here.”

Whenever there is a school shooting, Spinks and her team begin to delve deep into the history of the perpetrators.

“We immediately start looking for breadcrumbs to link them to these communities,” she admitted.

“More often than not, we’re finding that they were in groups like 764, especially if they’re young perpetrators.”

When the FBI issued a public service announcement in 2023 referencing 764, Spinks says it confirmed patterns she and her team had already been documenting.

“When I first went to the FBI, they didn’t really know what I was talking about,” she claimed. “Once the PSA came out, it finally put a name to what we were seeing.”

As she became more vocal publicly in early 2024, the threats intensified.

She filed reports with local law enforcement and was later included in an FBI complaint related to online harassment.

“The threats haven’t stopped,” she said. “Once you start exposing them, they try to intimidate you into silence.”

“Anywhere your child can talk privately to a stranger online is a potential entry point.

Her involvement deepened when she began investigating Tennessee man Spitze, after noticing allegations linking him to 764 circulating online.

A viral video showing him being shot in the ear by his stepfather drew attention to his case, and commenters claimed they were victims.

They also chillingly alleged he was connected to the network.

His stepfather has since been charged with tampering with a witness connected to his son’s trial.

Following those claims, Spinks says she traced online activity allegedly tied to Spitze to a Telegram channel that she described as containing graphic content involving minors being coerced into harming themselves.

Spitze is currently awaiting sentencing on child exploitation charges.

One of those Spinks says threatened her was Finnigan, according to a BBC report. During his sentencing hearing in the UK, she said hearing her name read aloud in court was surreal.

“To realize he was a 19-year-old sitting behind a screen was jarring,” she said. “These kids are made to believe they’re dealing with monsters who can reach into their homes. In reality, most of them have never left their bedrooms.”

She believes much of the network’s power lies in psychological manipulation — convincing children who don’t act upon their demands will lead to catastrophic consequences for them or their families.

“They create this image of being unstoppable and dangerous,” she said. “For a child, that feels completely real.”

Police problems

The decentralized nature of 764 makes it difficult to dismantle, she added. Groups splinter, rebrand, and migrate across platforms, from gaming environments to encrypted messaging apps.

She admits she once underestimated how mainstream platforms could be used as entry points.

In February 2025, 16-year-old Penelope Sokolowski took her own life, with her dad Jason heartbreakingly admitting looking through her phone was like attending a “crime scene.”

He saw images of self-mutilation and revealed his daughter had told him about being recruited in a group by someone she met on Roblox.

She claimed to have moved on. But not long after she turned 16, she killed herself.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/16014697/764-group-roblox-online-predators/

Oil prices surged more than 8 per cent to their highest in months on Monday (Mar 2) as Iran and Israel stepped up attacks in the Middle East.

Oil prices surged more than 8 per cent to their highest in months on Monday (Mar 2) as Iran and Israel stepped up attacks in the Middle East, damaging tankers and disrupting shipments from the key producing region.

Brent crude futures struck a high of US$82.37 a barrel and was at US$79.34, up US$6.47, or 8.88 per cent, by 11.05pm GMT (Monday, 7.05am, Singapore time).

US West Texas Intermediate crude jumped US$5.36, or 8 per cent, to US$72.38 a barrel after touching a high of US$75.33 earlier.

Israel launched a new wave of strikes on Tehran on Sunday, and Iran responded with more missile barrages, a day after the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei pitched the Middle East and the global economy into deepening uncertainty.

At least three tankers were damaged off the Gulf coast and one seafarer was killed as Iranian retaliation for US and Israeli strikes exposed ships to collateral damage, shipping sources and officials said on Sunday.

Most tanker owners, oil majors and trading houses have suspended crude oil, fuel and liquefied natural gas shipments via the Strait of Hormuz, trade sources said, after Tehran warned ships against moving through the waterway.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/oil-prices-increase-us-iran-israel-shipments-disrupted-hormuz-5962521

The Taliban say they engaged Pakistani jets in the skies over Kabul as the fighting between the Pakistani military and the Afghan militants continues to escalate.

Pakistani jets near Kabul were targeted by Afghan Taliban on Sunday, with blasts and gunfire rocking the city, officials said.

The explosions in Afghanistan’s capital come as the most recent clashes between the two countries entered a fourth day. The current escalation marks the heaviest cross-border fighting in years, raising fears of a protracted conflict.

On Sunday, explosions were heard across parts of Kabul before sunrise. They were followed by bursts ‌of gunfire, according to the Reuters news agency. It was not clear if the blasts caused any casualties.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, however, said that “Kabul residents should not be ‌concerned.”

“Air ‌defense attacks were carried out in Kabul against Pakistani aircraft,” Mujahid said.

Pakistan has acknowledged bombing key Afghan cities on Friday including the capital, Kabul, and the southern city of Kandahar, where Afghan Taliban Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada is based.

The AFP cited witnesses as saying air strikes had hit the Bagram air base area, previously a US stronghold, in the country’s southeast.

Taliban officials boosted security in central Kabul on Sunday evening, with increased checks on cars, AFP reported.

Pakistan PM cancels Moscow trip

The Afghan Taliban launched an offensive over the 2,600-km (1,615-mile) border after accusing Pakistan of targeting civilians inside Afghanistan.

Pakistan rejected the claim, saying its forces had just targeted militants. Islamabad, in turn, insists that that the Taliban-led regime is sheltering extremists that have conducted attacks in Pakistan, which Taliban officials deny.

Diplomatic efforts led by Saudi Arabia and Qatar have failed to secure a ceasefire so far.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif canceled a scheduled visit to ‌Russia amid the fighting. Moscow has called on both Afghanistan and Pakistan ‌to cease cross-border attacks and ⁠seek diplomacy to resolve their differences.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/afghan-taliban-reportedly-target-pakistani-jets-over-kabul/a-76178230

Police gunned down a “male shooter” when he fired at them after killing and injuring bar patrons in the US city of Austin. The FBI is now investigating the shooting as a potential act of terrorism.

Three people were killed early Sunday during a shooting at a bar in the US city of Austin, Texas, which the FBI said may have been an “act of terrorism.”

Fourteen others were wounded, including three who were in a critical condition.

The gunman, who has not been identified, was among the dead.

Speaking at a press conference, Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said police received reports of a “male shooting at Buford’s” Backyard Beer Garden, a popular bar in the city’s entertainment district.

When police arrived at the scene, Davis said they confronted a man with a gun and “returned fire, killing the suspect.”

Potential act of terrorism

FBI special agent Alex Doran said an exact motive wasn’t clear, but there were “indicators” found on the gunman and inside his car that suggest “a potential nexus to terrorism.”

“In terms of specifically what type of terrorism, we’re just at this point prepared to say that it was potentially potentially an act of terrorism,” Doran said.

Davis said the suspect first drove past the bar several times before opening fire from his vehicle. He then parked his car and walked toward the bar, shooting at patrons with a rifle.

Austin Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Chief Robert Luckritz said three people were found dead at the scene.

“We received a call at 1:39 a.m. local time (0739 GMT) and within 57 seconds, the first paramedics and officers were on scene actively treating the patients,” Luckritz added.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/texas-bar-shooting-leaves-3-dead-14-injured/a-76176467

For two days now, Dubai residents have mainly stayed indoors as their city is hit by missiles and drones – part of an attack launched by Iran across the region in response to the latest massive and ongoing attack against it by US and Israel.

Luxury hotels and its main airport – one of the busiest in the world by passenger traffic – were damaged.

The BBC has spoken to people who live in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as well as those on holiday, who describe situations far from the usual flow of daily life.

Resident Becky Williams said she saw about 15 missiles “launched from behind my house yesterday”, referring to missiles fired by UAE authorities to intercept incoming Iranian projectiles. “You can hear the interceptions happening in the air.”

But she added that she and her family were remaining calm and trusted the UAE military to defend its airspace, saying she believed it would “all blow over soon”.

Iran’s attacks in retaliation for the US-Israeli strikes continued into Sunday.

On the Palm Jumeirah, Dubai’s luxury man-made archipelago, the five-star Fairmont The Palm hotel was struck by a large explosion.

Debris from an intercepted drone resulted in a “minor fire” on the outer facade of the five-star Burj Al Arab hotel, authorities have said.

Another Dubai resident told the BBC: “What we’ve lived through over the past 24 hours is a fraction of what others have been living through in areas of conflict so it puts things in perspective.”

Meanwhile, Satya Jaganathan’s weekend plans for a hike on Sunday were foiled by the events.

“And here we are, sheltering in place,” she said.

The 35-year-old said her sister’s family and pets had to seek shelter in their apartment because they lived close to the Jebel Ali port, where there was “a lot of debris falling”.

On Saturday, officials said debris from an “aerial interception” caused a fire in a berth at the port, which is the world’s ninth busiest.

“It’s still relatively calm as there are only loud noises every few hours, but it is eerie because this is not the Dubai we are used to,” Jaganathan explained.

Dubai International Airport was also damaged in what authorities have called an “incident”.

Thousands of flights have been grounded to and from the Middle East, in one of the most serious disruptions to global travel since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Judy Trotter was supposed to return to London from her holiday on Saturday, but was told all flights were cancelled when she arrived at the airport.

“I’ve met people who were very upset about their travel plans, there were thousands of people in the airport, I met people who told me they were missing funerals,” she said.

She added a lot of passengers “were in transit, just passing through” and are now stuck.

Trotter was one of around 1,000 stranded passengers sent to stay at a hotel, where they were warned to stay away from the windows.

“There is a lot of glass in the hotel which is worrying,” she said, adding, they have heard “several missiles throughout the day”.

Another British holidaymaker – Kate Fischer from Buckinghamshire – said she and her family are “very frightened.”

On Saturday evening, she and her partner packed “a grab bag” as the children slept, she said, adding that she “doused bathrobes and towels” in water in case they needed to “escape during the night in fire conditions”.

Sunday, she said, was a strange day.

“It’s a very surreal experience being surrounded by everyone trying to enjoy their holiday and trying to entertain their children whilst we can see visible smoke from nearby areas that have been hit by drones or missiles.”

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20lggwk134o