News Desk

The latest addition to the legendary X-plane family is Bell Textron’s demonstrator for the Speed and Runway Independent Technologies (SPRINT) program. The chosen X-76 designation (for the year 1776) is intended to reflect the 250th anniversary of the United States.

“Bell is honored to receive the X-76 designation and continue the spirit of American innovation, honoring the founding of the United States in 1776,” said Jason Hurst, Bell SVP, Engineering, in a company media release. “This is an important milestone as the Bell and DARPA team advances to a historic first in aviation history and fulfills our mission of developing next-generation vertical-lift aircraft.”

SPRINT, which we have discussed in the past, is a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) effort that is being run in conjunction with the U.S. Special Operations Command. Last year, DARPA selected Bell in favor of Boeing subsidiary Aurora Flight Sciences to move to the next phase of SPRINT — an experimental flying demonstrator. It should also be noted that SPRINT is paired with the High-Speed Vertical Takeoff and Landing (HSVTOL) program, something that Bell has discussed with TWZ in depth in the past.

The core goal of SPRINT is to demonstrate a concept for a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft that can cruise at speeds between 400 and 450 knots. In the words of DARPA, the aim is to “[eliminate] one of the battlefield’s most difficult choices — between the high speed of an aircraft that needs a runway and the go-anywhere flexibility of a slower helicopter.”

Bell’s X-76 design centers on wingtip proprotors with blades that fold away after the transition from hover to level flight, as you can read more about here. The company calls this the Stop/Fold rotor system.

As we have described in the past:

At its most basic, the Stop/Fold concept is intended to offer vertical takeoff and landing capability, as well as the ability to hover, but with a tilting rotor system that can be stowed in a lower-drag configuration to allow for higher-speed level flight. A separate traditional jet propulsion system provides forward thrust in the latter mode.

DARPA announced today that the X-76 had successfully completed its critical design review (CDR) and has now entered production. CDR followed Bell’s selection in May 2025, after which SPRINT entered Phase 2 of the program.

Once built, the X-76 demonstrator is planned to mature technologies necessary for the following capabilities:

• Achieve cruise at speeds exceeding 400 knots
• Hover in austere environments
• Operate in and out of unprepared surfaces

“For too long, the runway has been both an enabler and a tether, granting speed but creating a critical vulnerability,” said Cmdr. Ian Higgins, U.S. Navy, program manager for DARPA SPRINT. “With SPRINT, we’re not just building an X-plane; we’re building options. We’re working to deliver the option of surprise, the option of rapid reinforcement, and the option of life-saving speed, anywhere on the globe, without needing any runway.”

Eventually, Phase 2 will be followed by a flight-test program, known as Phase 3, which is planned for early 2028.

Bell has shown renderings of multiple crewed and uncrewed variations of aircraft based on its Stop/Fold concept in the past.

In its announcement today, DARPA also released a rendering showing the X-76, apparently uncrewed. It was presented together with a rendering showing a potential production aircraft (seen below) based on the X-76/SPRINT, this time optionally crewed.

These renderings are broadly similar to those (crewed and uncrewed) that Bell released in 2024 and which we discussed at the time.

While it’s not immediately clear how the crewed and uncrewed aircraft in the latest renderings differ in size, it’s worth noting that Bell previously showed two different sizes of crewed Stop/Fold rotor concepts, plus one uncrewed.

Beyond the aspiration to demonstrate cruising speeds in excess of 400 knots, DARPA’s press release does not include any other details about expected flight performance or other capabilities. Previously, Bell has said the technology is scalable, so it could apply to designs with gross weights ranging from 4,000 to 100,000 pounds. In contrast, Air Force Special Operations Command’s (AFSOC) CV-22B version of the Osprey tiltrotor has a maximum gross weight of 60,500 pounds and a top speed of 280 knots.

SPRINT has so far focused primarily on designs capable of transporting cargo and personnel. However, Bell has shown renderings of multiple crewed and uncrewed variations, including types that could be configured for offensive missions. You can read more about what the company has previously disclosed about the fold-away rotor concept in this TWZ feature.

Other missions could include combat search and rescue (CSAR), intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), air-to-air combat, and air-to-surface strike.

Of these, CSAR is currently of particular relevance, with growing questions about how this highly demanding mission will be conducted going forward, especially when it comes to high-end conflicts against adversaries with more capable air defense networks. An X-76-derived platform could be a suitable basis for a future CSAR aircraft.

More generally, the U.S. military is looking at ways to advance its runway-independent capabilities. Runway-independent aircraft, as well as platforms with more limited runway requirements, both crewed and/or uncrewed, are increasingly seen as critical to being able to take on China in a future high-end conflict in the Indo-Pacific region. In Europe and the Middle East, too, where traditional runways can also be targeted by a growing range of threats, the kinds of technologies that the X-76 will explore could also be highly relevant.

Regardless of theater or mission, VTOL is a central part of the X-76 and SPRINT. The ability to operate from a greater number of locations, including austere ones close to the battle, would help reduce vulnerability and increase overall flexibility, as well.

As well as freedom from conventional runways and infrastructure, the high speed of the X-76 would bring considerable benefits in terms of being able to rapidly deploy over longer distances, improved response time, and enhanced survivability, which is always a major factor for conventional rotorcraft.

While Bell is confident in the potential of its Stop/Fold rotor system, and DARPA has identified it as a concept worth exploring with a demonstrator aircraft, it is not the only option on the table when it comes to meeting growing demands for new VTOL-capable special operations airlift and other runway-independent capabilities.

Beyond the technical hurdles that lie ahead of the X-76 in particular, and new-generation VTOL concepts in general, it should also be recalled that, despite decades of interest and multiple research efforts, the U.S. military has, as far as we know, so far only fielded one tiltrotor platform. While multiple efforts to develop a truly high-speed VTOL platform in this class have so far failed to yield an operational aircraft, the X-76 should, at the very least, demonstrate whether the Stop/Fold rotor system could be one answer to this requirement.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

Zoe Markos, who appeared on Neighbours as an extra before landing a speaking role, has revealed what it’s really like working on the soap opera and let slip some backstage secrets

An actress who previously on a huge soap opera has opened up on what it’s really like on set.

Neighbours first aired in 1985 and initially ended in 2022, however, the show was later revived by Amazon before its final cancellation in 2025.

Over its long history, the Australian serial drama launched the careers of global stars like Margot Robbie, Kylie Minogue, Russell Crowe, and Liam Hemsworth but what is it actually like to be on the set of Erinsborough?

Zoe Markos first joined Neighbours in 2012 as an extra before eventually landing a speaking role in 2025 as Louisa Palamountain and she’s now shared some behind-the-scenes secrets that viewers might not know.

Speaking to JoeFortune, Zoe explained: “The studio is literally Erinsborough, built to feel like a real town. Walking around, you genuinely feel like you’re in an actual town because of how well it’s been designed. The sets are much smaller than they look on TV.

“For example, when you’re pretending to make juice or cook something, none of the utensils actually work but it doesn’t matter because the illusion is perfect.

“What really blows me away is how much history is packed into those sets. Especially when I was involved on the production side, I got to see props, furniture, and chairs dating back to the 1980s, all carefully preserved.

“They even have old VHS tapes of episodes that haven’t been digitised yet. It’s incredible. I think most people don’t realise just how much history was made in that studio and on that show. It’s truly remarkable.”

Zoe went on to share some bizarre rules she had to follow on set, revealing: “You can’t actually talk, so you have to mime.

“For example, if you’re opposite someone or asked to have a conversation on set, you just can’t speak. It’s probably common on all shows, but in party scenes, for instance, they don’t play the music, so you have to dance without it. It can feel a bit awkward.

“Another thing is that you really have to be very quiet and not make any noise, which is kind of funny when you think about it. Those would probably be some of the little secrets about being on set that people don’t usually notice.”

Moving on to clothing, Zoe added: “As an extra, it depends on your role. If you are part of the main background, like a work guard or a specific set role, they usually provide your costume. If you are just a regular member of the community in a scene, they might give you clothes or accessories.

“If not, they will send a brief to your manager or directly to you if you do not have one, explaining what you can and cannot wear.

“Generally, they avoid patterns like polka dots or anything too busy. They prefer plain clothing with no logos, and you definitely cannot wear anything that could be copyrighted.”

For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new ** Everything Gossip ** website

United States President Donald Trump has said the country’s military bombed military installations on Iran’s Kharg island, warning the area’s critical oil facilities could be next if Iran continues to block the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran, in turn, threatened on Saturday to reduce US-linked oil facilities to “a pile of ashes” if oil structures on the island were attacked, as the US-Israel war on Iran, now in its punishing third week, spilled over into a global oil price crisis already in the making.

Kharg island is where more than 90 percent of Iran’s oil is exported. Crude oil prices have surged more than 40 percent since the war began.

Trump said on Friday that US forces had “totally obliterated” all military targets on Iran’s Kharg island oil export hub, describing it in a social media post as “one of the most powerful bombing raids in the History of the Middle East”. He provided no evidence of that.

The US president said he had chosen not to “wipe out” oil infrastructure on the Iranian island, for now.

“However, should Iran, or anyone else, do anything to interfere with the Free and Safe Passage of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz, I will immediately reconsider this decision,” he added.

Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported, quoting sources, that more than 15 explosions were heard on Kharg island during the US attacks.

The sources said the attacks targeted air defences, a naval base, and airport facilities, but caused no damage to oil infrastructure. Iran’s Fars news agency reported thick smoke was seen rising from the island.

Al Jazeera’s Mohamed Vall, reporting from Tehran, said Iran’s potential retaliatory attacks on Gulf oil facilities would be a “catastrophic scenario” for the region, and for the “entire industry of oil and gas”.

“The Iranians are keeping this, apparently, as a card to use,” he said. “They’ve been talking about restraint and the possibility of that restraint ending if the Iranian oil facilities are attacked, as the Americans are hinting and threatening.”

US ground operation in the works?

Meanwhile, 2,500 more Marines and an amphibious assault ship are being sent to the Middle East, a US official told the AP news agency.

Elements from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli have been ordered to the region, according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military plans.

Marine Expeditionary Units are able to conduct amphibious landings, but they also specialise in bolstering security at embassies, evacuating civilians, and providing disaster relief.

“What we’re to make of this is that the US is very slowly increasing its military posture in terms of prosecuting the war, and that it is not intending to wrap things up any time soon,” Al Jazeera’s Rosiland Jordan reported from Washington.

The deployment does not necessarily indicate that a ground operation is imminent or will take place.

Trump dismisses prospect of deal

Following the attack on Kharg island, Iran would be “wise to lay down their arms, and save what’s left of their country”, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

“The Fake News Media hates to report how well the United States Military has done against Iran, which is totally defeated and wants a deal – but not a deal that I would accept!” he posted separately, providing no evidence Tehran was seeking any sort of deal.

At least 1,444 people have been killed and 18,551 injured by US-Israeli attacks on Iran since February 28, Iran’s Ministry of Health says.

Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi, reporting from Tehran, said US-Israeli air attacks hit targets across the country, including in Tehran, Karaj, Isfahan and Tabriz. He said this was a sign that “we are not close to de-escalation.

“Iranian officials are talking about retaliatory strikes, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps talking about using what they call their most advanced weaponry, including Heidar missiles, to target Israeli territories and US bases in the region,” he said.

The U.S. military has been using M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) to strike Iranian ships as part of Operation Epic Fury. Since the current conflict erupted, the only munitions those launchers have been seen firing are Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) and Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) short-range ballistic missiles. PrSM has made its combat debut against Iran, and the newly disclosed operational details raise the question of whether an anti-ship version has been fielded.

Over the first 10 days of Operation Epic Fury, American forces destroyed 50 Iranian naval vessels “using a combination of artillery, fighters, bombers, and sea-launched missiles,” Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff U.S. Air Force Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine said at a press conference at the Pentagon this morning. U.S. officials have consistently stressed that the neutralization of Iran’s naval capabilities is a core objective of the ongoing campaign against Iran.

TWZ subsequently reached out for further clarification about what Caine was referring to here when he said “artillery” and for any additional information about the use of those assets against the Iranian Navy. A U.S. official told TWZ that HIMARS were used against Iranian Navy ships, but would not comment on what type of munitions they had fired or which ships were attacked that way.

However, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has released several videos and pictures showing HIMARS operating in support of Operation Epic Fury. As noted, that imagery has only shown them firing ATACMS and PrSM ballistic missiles. CENTCOM has also now explicitly touted the first-ever combat use of PrSM in the current conflict. U.S. officials have yet to confirm where specifically ATACMS or PrSM missiles are being fired from.

Imagery also began circulating on social media yesterday that is said to show an empty ATACMS ammunition ‘pod’ in Kuwait discovered by locals in the midst of ongoing operations against Iran. Wheeled HIMARS launchers, as well as tracked M270 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS), fire ATACMS, PrSM, and 227mm guided artillery from pods with standardized dimensions. ATACMS are loaded one to a pod, while pods for PrSM contain two missiles.

A video also emerged online this past weekend showing two HIMARS being employed from a beach in Bahrain. When the footage was captured is unknown. What munitions they see are also unclear.

No evidence has emerged so far that HIMARS are being used to fire 227mm guided artillery rockets, which come six to a pod, in support of Operation Epic Fury. Even new extended-range variants of these rockets can only fly out to around 93 miles (150 kilometers) away, severely limiting the areas in and around Iran they could reach from available launch points in the region, to begin with. For example, the shortest distance between Bahrain and Iranian soil across the Persian Gulf is around 120 miles. The longest ranged variants of ATACMS can hit targets out to around 186 miles (300 kilometers), with PrSM’s maximum range at least 310 miles (500 kilometers).

It should also be noted that there is no known operational variant of ATACMS capable of engaging moving targets, meaning that it would have to be used against stationary ships. This is very possible, as we’ve seen multiple examples of Iranian ships struck in port or while appearing to be at anchor offshore already.

The U.S. Army had pursued an anti-ship version of ATACMS in the past, which would have been capable of targeting vessels on the move. That effort looks to have been subsumed by the development of a ship-killing variant of PrSM featuring an additional seeker, also known as Increment 2.

There have been indications that the U.S. Army has already begun to field PrSMs that can hit ships on the move, though it is unclear if this represents the full planned Increment 2 capability. In 2024, the service announced it had successfully hit a moving vessel with an unspecified version of PrSM in a test exercise in the Pacific. In a report released in 2025, the Pentagon’s Office of the Director of Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) disclosed that the Army had actually “shot two PrSM EOC [early operational capability] missiles at a maritime target in June 2024.” At that time, the service was only known to have reached early operational capability with the baseline version of PrSM, also known as Increment 1.

It is possible that the Army has begun to field Increment 2 PrSMs, at least on a limited level, as well. The Army announced that it had begun initial flight testing of the new seeker system in 2023. Whether or not Increment 1 missiles can be readily converted into Increment 2 versions is also unknown. Like ATACMS, PrSMs without a moving target capability could still be fired at ships that are stationary, as well.

Regardless, Operation Epic Fury looks to be the first known instance of the U.S. military using ballistic missiles to target ships, at anchor and/or on the move, in real combat.

In general, ballistic missiles are especially well-suited to long-range standoff strikes against time-sensitive and well-defended high-value targets based on the speed at which they fly. They also reach especially high velocity as they come down in the terminal phase of flight. This all, in turn, creates additional challenges for enemy defenders attempting to intercept them compared to other kinds of missiles, including some subsonic air-breathing cruise missiles, and compresses the overall time available to react in any way. That speed also gives ballistic missiles an inherent ability to burrow more deeply into hardened targets. This could be particularly valuable when engaging larger and better-armored warships.

The U.S. military has been playing catch-up for some time now when it comes to the development and fielding of anti-ship ballistic missiles, especially compared to the investments that China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has made in this arena. The use now of ballistic missiles against Iranian ships is, in turn, a sign of things to come in other future U.S. operations. PrSM is often discussed as a particularly important new capability in the context of any future high-end fight against China in the Pacific, just on account of its extended range compared to ATACMS. That extra reach would be valuable for engaging targets on land and at sea. TWZ previously highlighted how the use of PrSM in strikes on Iranian targets, in general, could also send signals to other American opponents well beyond the Middle East.

Interestingly, Iran has also spent considerable time and resources developing an array of shorter-range anti-ship ballistic missiles, capabilities that were then proliferated to its Houthi proxies in Yemen. The Houthis became the first in the world to fire anti-ship ballistic missiles in anger in 2023, as part of a campaign against commercial vessels and foreign warships in and around the Red Sea that ultimately stretched into 2025. So far, Iran does not look to have brought these capabilities to bear itself in the current conflict.

If nothing else, HIMARS has now been used in real combat to target enemy naval vessels, very likely with ballistic missiles. In doing so, experience is gained that could be very relevant beyond the current conflict with Iran.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

TIKTOK sensation DJ AG once earned an entire year’s salary in just one month after going viral on the app.

DJ AG, whose given name is Ashley Gordon, is best known for his live-streamed DJ sets outside London King’s Cross station which have attracted some of the biggest stars in the world.

He now performs all over the country and has been joined by the likes of Ed Sheeran, Rita Ora, Will Smith, Skepta, Daniel Bedingfield, Craig David and Idris Elba. Even supermodel Naomi Campbell.

Even former British Vogue editor Edward Enninful dropped by for a surprise visit once.

Now, DJ AG has revealed how much he rakes in every month, but also got real about how much work it takes to be a TikTok star.

“What I’m earning now is circa £4,000 a month if I’m lucky,” he explained during a recent appearance on the In My Opinion podcast.

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“Prior to that I was monetising on TikTok and doing very well,” he continued, and confirmed there were some months when he earned more than £40,000.

“People don’t know how TikTok works, it’s not just posting content. You can go live, you can do co-host battles with people and that’s a call to action, people will support you with gifting.”

DJ AG also earns money on TikTok by doing ‘forfeit challenges,’ where two content creators go head-to-head and the loser has to undertake an intense dare.

“I was bantering and people were enjoying the content so people were gifting, and I earned a good amount of money,” he said.

“Maybe in one month, I earned more than a year’s salary.”

He explained he is earning less from TikTok now because he’s only doing the outdoor DJ sets and there’s no “call to action” to encourage people to send monetary gifts.

DJ AG said he was happy to talk about his earnings because he wanted to be honest with up-and-coming content creators, not only about the financial gains, but also the huge amount of work that goes in to being a hip hop star.

“People don’t understand the amount of hours I had to do, like 15 hours a day every day,” he said.

“In my opinion, it’s important to be transparent especially for the youth that are coming through so they understand what the opportunities are.”

People who post on TikTok have the opportunity to join the TikTok Creator Fund, which pays content creators for their views.

To join the program TikTokers must be 18 or older, have a minimum of 10,000 followers, a minimum of 100,000 views within 30 days of uploading the video, and run an account that follows TikTok Community Guidelines.

While it is not a grant or ad revenue program, the Creator Fund provides payment to qualified TikTokers based on a “variety of factors” across their content.

“We want all creators to have the opportunity to earn money doing what they love and turn their passion into a livelihood,” the website continues.

With no limit on the number of qualified TikTokers who can join the fund, payments may increase or decrease at different times throughout one’s run on the platform.

Some factors affecting the funds a qualified TikToker may earn include the number of authentic views per video, the amount of engagement, and whether or not the work falls within the Community Guidelines.

Israel’s attack, echoing similar carnage it wrought in Gaza, kills doctors, paramedics and nurses who were on duty.

An Israeli strike on a health centre in southern Lebanon has killed 12 medical workers, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said, as its devastating assault continued amid a wider regional war launched by the United States and Israel on Iran 15 days ago.

The attack late on Friday occurred in the village of Burj Qalaouiyah in the Bint Jbeil District, and killed doctors, paramedics and nurses who were on duty, Lebanon’s health ministry said.

The carnage echoed Israel’s constant targeting of medics and hospitals that decimated Gaza’s healthcare system during its genocidal war on the Palestinian enclave and which contravenes international humanitarian law.

Israeli strikes have so far killed 18 paramedics among 773 people reported killed in Lebanon since fighting between Hezbollah and Israel reignited March 2, after a US-Israeli assault on Iran began on February 28, with the conflict now embroiling much of the region.

According to Al Jazeera’s Heidi Pett, reporting from Beirut, the toll of medics was preliminary as rescue teams continued searching for missing people.

“You can see how deadly some of these individual air strikes have been, not just across the south, but of course, we are seeing air strikes hitting across the capital, Beirut,” said Pett.

Lebanon’s Ministry of Health said it was the second attack on the health sector within hours, after another Israeli strike on the southern village of Souaneh killed two paramedics and wounded five others when it hit a paramedic centre.

The ministry condemned the attack and denounced what it called as continued violence against health workers.

At least four people were also killed in an Israeli air raid on Taamir Haret Saida in the country’s south, the Lebanese News Agency (NNA) said.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah overnight claimed it fired suicide drones against Israeli troops in the northern town of Ya’ara inside Israel.

It was the 24th military operation announced by the group on Friday.

The Lebanese armed group also said it launched rocket attacks targeting Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon, one in the town of Kfar Kila, and the other in the city of Khiam.

Late on Friday, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said his group is ready for a “long confrontation” with Israel as the war continues.

“This is an existential battle, not a limited or simple battle,” he said.

Damage in Israel from Iranian ‘cluster missiles’

Meanwhile, Iran’s retaliatory attacks against Israel continued.

Rocket and missile strikes early on Saturday targeted the Upper Galilee region of northern Israel, Channel 12 reported.

The news outlet said that a “limited number of launches” were either “intercepted” or exploded in open areas.

A post on X from Israel’s public broadcaster KAN featured several vehicles damaged in the strikes.

Alarms were raised for suspected rocket and missile fire in Manara, Margaliot, Kfar Giladi, Misgav Am, Tel Hai, Metula, Kfar Giladi and Kfar Yuval throughout the early morning on Saturday.

“A lot of the damage that we are being told about at the moment seems to be coming from these cluster missiles that Iran has been launching pretty much consistently for the last week at least and they scatter over a large area,” said Al Jazeera’s Rory Challands, reporting from Amman, Jordan.

“They disperse these submunitions bomblets. Each of those has about 2.5 kilogrammes (5.5 pounds) of explosives in them. You can see why that does quite some damage when it scatters and hasn’t been intercepted by the Israeli air defence.”

An Australian E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning and control plane is headed for the Persian Gulf. This comes as Gulf Arab states continue to be subjected to Iran’s attacks in retaliation for ongoing U.S. and Israeli strikes. The E-7A is arguably the best airborne look-down sensor platform in the world at present, and will provide a particularly important boost in capability for spotting low-flying Iranian kamikaze drones and cruise missiles.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the impending deployment of the E-7A to the Middle East at a press conference yesterday. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) currently operates a fleet of six Wedgetails.

“Twelve countries across the region, from Cyprus through to the Gulf are continuing to be targeted. The United Arab Emirates alone has been forced to shoot down over 1,500 rockets and drones,” Albanese said. “This growing wave of dangerous and destabilising attacks from Iran puts civilian lives at risk, of course including Australian lives, of which there are more than 20,000 people based in the UAE.”

“In responding to requests, following a conversation that I had with the President [of the UAE,] Mohammed bin Zayed [Al Nahyan; also Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi], and other requests, Australia will deploy an E-7A Wedgetail, to the Gulf to help protect and defend Australians and other civilians,” Albanese continued. “The Wedgetail will provide long-range reconnaissance capability, which will help to protect and secure the airspace above the Gulf. The Wedgetail and supporting Australian Defence Force personnel will be deployed for an initial four weeks in support of the collective self-defense of Gulf nations.”

The E-7A is based on the Boeing 737-700 Next Generation airliner airframe. Its most prominent feature is the Northrop Grumman Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) sensor installed on top of the fuselage, which offers 360-degree coverage and can scan for aerial and maritime threats. It also has an extensive suite of communications and data-sharing capabilities, backed by modern processing power, allowing for the rapid exchange of information with other friendly assets in the air and in other domains. You can read more about the aircraft here.

Northrop Grumman MESA Radar – Boeing E-7 AEWC

“As the Prime Minister has said at the request of the UAE, we will be deploying an E-7 Wedgetail to the Gulf. This is one of the leading capabilities in the world in terms of airborne long-range reconnaissance and command. And we are one of the leading nations in the use of the E-7,” Richard Marles, Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and the country’s Minister for Defense, also said at the press conference yesterday. “There will be in the order of 85 personnel who will go with this airframe and that’s the normal crew. The airframe will be leaving Australia today and the expectation is that it will be in the region in the middle of the week and operational by the end of the week.”

Albanese and Marles also said the Australian government planned to send a tranche of AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) to the UAE. In addition to ground-based air defense, Emirati fighters have been working to intercept incoming Iranian threats.

As noted, the biggest boost in capability the RAAF’s E-7A will bring to the Gulf is its look-down sensor capability. From the aircraft’s high perch, the MESA sensor has an excellent field of view to spot low and slow-flying targets, even if they are relatively small. Wedgetail would also be able to see threats as far out into the Persian Gulf, or even possibly beyond.

So much garbage being passed around here in long jargon filled threads that sound like AI about E-7 Wedgetail and the potential RAAF deployment to the Middle East. Here is all you need to know:

it’s arguably the best low flying drone and CM detection sensor on earth.

That’s… pic.twitter.com/TRuBrmQzSC

— Tyler Rogoway (@Aviation_Intel) March 10, 2026

Having another eye in the sky to provide additional alerts about incoming threats and more overall situational awareness will be a boon for defenders in the air and on the ground, in general. The E-7A can also be refueled in flight, meaning it can stay on station longer.

The UAE, which is the clear focus of the Australian deployment, does have a fleet of 5 Saab GlobalEye airborne early warning and control aircraft, but the extent to which they are operating now is unknown. While a modern and capable design, GlobalEye does not provide the same level of coverage and capability as the E-7A, and is also based on the smaller Bombardier Global 6000 business jet, which cannot refuel in flight.

GlobalEye on operational mission

There is more airborne warning and control coverage elsewhere in the Gulf, including six U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft forward-deployed to Saudi Arabia just ahead of the current conflict with Iran. Saudi Arabia has its own E-3s and GlobalEye jets. How effective the aging Cold War-era E-3, in particular, is at this point at spotting and tracking low-flying kamikaze drones is unclear. In general, the E-7’s active electronically-scanned array MESA sensor offers clear advantages over the Sentry’s older radar, especially when it comes to smaller, slower, and lower-flying targets.

For years now, the U.S. E-3 fleet, overall, has struggled with readiness issues, which you can read more about here. As an aside, the strain on the E-3 fleet, now magnified by the current conflict, together with Australia’s deployment of an E-7 to the region, makes the Pentagon’s attempt last year to cancel the U.S. Air Force’s Wedgetail program seem even more bizarrely short-sighted.

In speaking yesterday, Australia’s Marles drew a comparison between sending the E-7A to the Middle East now and the past deployment of a Wedgetail to Poland to provide coverage along that country’s border with Ukraine. However, that mission was ostensibly focused on watching for threats to cross-border transfers of aid to the government in Kyiv.

The need for E-7A in the Gulf now is substantially more pressing.

Since the current conflict began, the UAE has been providing particularly granular data about incoming Iranian missile and drone attacks, as well as interception rates, offering a good sense of the current threat ecosystem in the Gulf. As of the last official tally from the UAE’s Ministry of Defense, the country’s forces have intercepted 1,385 kamikaze drones, 241 ballistic missiles, and eight cruise missiles since February 28.

Still, UAE authorities say that 90 kamikaze drones and 19 ballistic missiles have been able to reach the ground, causing casualties, as well as damage to military facilities and civilian infrastructure. All of this is broadly reflective of the experience of other Gulf Arab states that have been subjected to attacks from Iran over the past 11 days.

Overall, Iranian retaliatory attacks have notably slowed in recent days across the region, but they have not stopped. Based on its own data, the UAE saw a notably high number of Iranian drones get past its defenses yesterday. This comes amid persistent media reports of concerns among several Gulf Arab states, as well as the U.S. military, about the dwindling stockpile of anti-air interceptors and what has turned into a war of attrition with Iran. Publicly, American and regional authorities have pushed back on this reporting. At the same time, Australia’s plan to rush AIM-120s to the UAE is certainly evidence of demand for additional munitions.

Reasonable to ask what the raw numbers for ballistic missile and drone attempts vs. hits are, which are plotted in these figures. Again, all figures are from UAE MOD. pic.twitter.com/dhj86h6DbD

— Christopher Clary (@clary_co) March 10, 2026

There is also a question of where the Australian E-7A will be based and what threats there might be as a result to the aircraft, aircrew, and the rest of the 85-person contingent. Albanese and Marles do not appear to have explicitly said where the jet will be flying from to provide coverage over the UAE and other parts of the Gulf region.

With Iran showing no intention of halting its drone and missile attacks across the Gulf, Australia’s E-7A Wedgetail, wherever it might be stationed, looks set to bring immensely valuable added look-down surveillance coverage to the region.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

The celebrity chef opened up about his beloved grandmother Marjorie who died before seeing him star in a show she was a ‘huge fan’ of

James Martin has shared a poignant family revelation that he admits leaves him with “sadness”. The 52-year-old chef first gained recognition as part of the Ready Steady Cook team.

Since then, he’s featured across numerous television programmes including the likes of Housecall and Entertaining with James. In 2006 he joined Saturday Kitchen, presenting the weekend programme for a decade.

Throughout his professional journey, James has relied upon his family’s steadfast support, particularly from his devoted grandmother Marjorie, who he says tuned into every programme he featured in.

Tragically, she passed away before James appeared on one specific show that she was a “huge fan” of. In conversation with Candis magazine, he revealed: “Mum is my biggest fan and the most honest person I know. My granny, Marjorie, also watched everything I did.”

He continued: “She was a huge fan of Strictly and it’s a sadness to me that she didn’t live long enough to see me take part in 2005.”

James took part in the third series of Strictly Come Dancing, where he was paired with professional dancer Camilla Dallerup. He secured fourth place behind radio presenter Zoe Ball, with Olympian Colin Jackson finishing runner-up and cricketer Darren Gough claiming the Glitterball Trophy.

James, who grew up on a farm in North Yorkshire, attributes his culinary passion to his grandmother’s influence. In a 2011 Mirror interview, he recalled enjoying fresh produce from his grandparents’ allotment during his childhood.

The chef even credits his grandparents with nurturing his passion for cooking, backing him when he secured a position in a local kitchen before attending culinary school. He said: “My grandmother was a huge influence in my life and inadvertently inspired me to be a chef.

“She baked and cooked, and she was just wonderful. If I could be 10% of what she was, I’d be a lucky man.

“As a boy, my most vivid memories are of helping her dig up potatoes fresh from her allotment, then boiling them up with some mint. If someone asks you what your most memorable meal was, it’s seldom something you had in a restaurant, it’s what you ate at home as a kid, isn’t it?”.

He added: “I remember going shopping with her and watching her buy bacon and crusty white bread. You’d just see her backside as she disappeared into the shelf, reaching right to the back for the freshest loaf, squeezing them until she found it.

“When we got home she’d grill the bacon on one of those old enamel gas cookers with red buttons. It would take ages to warm up and cook, and the room would fill with the smell of cooking fat.”

James returns to television with James Martin’s Saturday Morning from 9.30am today (March 14). Joining him will be vocalist and television presenter Jane McDonald alongside chefs Judy Joo and Curtis Stone plus mixologist Merlin Griffiths.

Mukalla, Yemen – A reported decision to impose thousands of dollars in fees on shipping headed for Yemen has experts worried that the price of imported goods and food will increase in the war-torn country, as it starts to feel the economic impact of the United States and Israel’s conflict with Iran.

Local traders and officials have said that international shipping companies informed importers earlier this month of the imposition of new fees of about $3,000 on each container bound for Yemen, described as “war risk” fees. The surprise move prompted government officials to scramble to assess and address its potential repercussions.

Because Yemen imports nearly 90 percent of its food and other essential commodities, economists and humanitarian organisations warn that the rise in shipping and insurance costs could quickly translate into higher prices for fuel, food and other goods, further worsening an already dire humanitarian situation.

Mohsen al-Amri, transport minister in Yemen’s internationally-recognised government based in the southern city of Aden, said he had instructed that the fees not be paid by ships already docked at Yemeni ports or those bound for the country, insisting that the ports remain safe.

“Our ports are far from the areas of geopolitical tension in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, making the imposition of ‘risk’ fees on shipments to these relatively safe areas unjustified from both operational and security perspectives,” he said in a social media post last week.

Al Jazeera has reached out to shipping companies to confirm details of the fee, but has yet to receive responses.

For more than a decade, Yemen has been gripped by a bloody war between the Saudi-backed government, based in Aden, and the Iran-aligned Houthi movement, which controls the capital, Sanaa. The conflict has killed and wounded thousands of people and displaced millions, creating what the United Nations once described as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Hostilities have significantly declined since April 2022, when the warring parties agreed to a temporary United Nations-brokered truce.

‘High-risk’

Abdulrab al-Khulaqui, deputy chairman of the Yemen Gulf of Aden Ports Corporation, said Yemeni ports have long been classified as high-risk, prompting shipping companies to impose war-risk surcharges. These can reach about $500 per each 20-foot container and $1,000 per each 40-foot container, on top of regular shipping costs.

Al-Khulaqui said that the $3,000 fee now being demanded was “very high and unusual”, but was justified by shipping companies because they regard Yemeni ports as unsafe, despite their distance from Iran.

Although the Houthis are allied to Iran and previously attacked shipping in the Red Sea following Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, the Yemeni group has yet to intervene in the US-Israel-Iran conflict. Other Yemeni parties are also not involved, making Yemen one of the few regional countries yet to see any violence related to the fighting.

In addition to barring local traders from paying the new charges, the Yemeni government is considering other measures to pressure shipping companies to cancel the fees, including threatening to stop vessels belonging to those companies from docking at Yemeni ports. Authorities may also allow traders to contact exporters directly in countries of origin to negotiate any additional charges.

The new surcharges come as the United Nations has again sounded the alarm over Yemen’s worsening humanitarian situation, saying nearly 65.4 percent of the population – about 23.1 million people – will require urgent humanitarian assistance and protection services this year. This marks an increase of roughly 3.5 million people compared with 2025.

“Yemen continues to face an escalating food security crisis entering 2026,” the World Food Program said in its February Yemen Food Security Update, released on March 5. “January data revealed that 63 percent of households nationwide are struggling to meet their minimum food needs, including 36 percent facing severe food deprivation.”

Bypassing Yemen’s ports

In addition to rising insurance fees on shipments to Yemen, the war in Iran and potential disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz could cut vital supply routes from regional hub ports such as Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates.

Mustafa Nasr, head of the Studies and Economic Media Center, told Al Jazeera that shipping companies may begin seeking alternative hub ports to deliver goods to Yemen, which could increase costs and cause delays.

“The closure of Jebel Ali port would force shipping lines to seek alternative ports that may be farther away and involve significantly higher transportation costs,” he said.

Nabil Abdullah Bin Aifan, manager of the government-run Maritime Affairs Authority in Hadramout province and a maritime researcher, said most goods arriving at Mukalla port – the province’s main seaport – are transported on wooden dhows from Dubai.

He said that if disruptions occur in the Strait of Hormuz, traders may turn to alternative regional hub ports such as Salalah in Oman or Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.

“Large ships come to Dubai to unload their containers, and traders then unload the goods from the containers and load them onto those primitive ships, which have no insurance,” Bin Aifan told Al Jazeera.

For now, wheat shipments from Ukraine and goods transported from China to Yemen may see price increases due to rising insurance costs, while products imported from Gulf countries could disappear from the market.

Shipping lines may also consider routing cargo through the Cape of Good Hope rather than the Gulf, Bin Aifan said.

“Even before the recent developments involving Iran, ports in our region were considered high risk. However, after the relative calm that followed the halt to Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, confidence gradually returned and ships began sailing back to the region. Now, the war has brought the problem back again,” he said.

All of this means that Yemenis, already struggling with poverty and hunger after years of war, will likely have to pay more for imported food and goods.

Abdullah al-Hadad, an English teacher from the city of Taiz with 40 years of experience in the profession, said that his monthly salary – less than $80 – is already not enough to cover his basic needs. Meat and fish have become luxuries for his family, and he still owes nearly one million Yemeni riyals (about $670) to a local grocery shop.

To make ends meet, he works additional jobs as a taxi driver and in a grocery store, while his children also work after school to help support the family and pay for medication for his 10-year-old son, who has autism.

“What I suffer from as a government employee is the extremely low salary, which does not even cover basic necessities such as bread, tea, salt and sugar,” al-Hadad told Al Jazeera.

“Other foods that are essential for a healthy diet, like meat or fish, have become a distant dream.”

AUSTIN, Texas — One of the most anticipated events at this year’s SXSW Film & TV Festival wasn’t a movie at all, but a speaking appearance by director Steven Spielberg. The talk, a live taping of the podcast “The Big Picture” lead by co-host Sean Fennessey, covered many aspects of the Hollywood legend’s career, with a through line of sci-fi and space aliens in conjunction with Spielberg’s upcoming alien invasion thriller “Disclosure Day,” due June 12.

Though no real details about the new film were revealed, references to it peppered the conversation as if it were very much on Spielberg’s mind — the film he was ostensibly there to promote.

To an audience that included filmmakers Robert Rodriguez and Daniel Kwan, the event began with a clip reel that served as a reminder (as if anyone in the packed hotel ballroom needed one) of just how influential the 79-year-old filmmaker is. A selection of Spielberg’s work plays like a trailer for the idea of movies themselves; this one included “Jaws,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “E.T.” “Schindler’s List,” “Jurassic Park,” “The Sugarland Express,” “Catch Me If You Can,” “Munich” and many more.

Fennessey noted that Spielberg wanted to make 1977’s “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” his first sci-fi movie about the existence of aliens from other worlds, even before making 1975’s “Jaws.” Spielberg went further, saying he had actually wanted to make “Close Encounters” — then just referred to as “The UFO Movie” — even before 1974’s “Sugarland Express.”

Asked about President Obama’s recent comments about the possible existence of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe and how his own feelings may have evolved over the years, Spielberg said, “I think that for one thing, when President Obama made that comment, I thought, ‘Oh my God, this is so great for “Disclosure Day,”’ and then, two days later, he stepped back the comment and said what he believed in was life in the cosmos, which of course everybody should believe that because no one should ever think that we are the only intelligent civilization in the entire universe. So I’ve always believed, even as a kid, that we were not alone. So that just goes without saying. The big question is: Are we alone now?”

He added this interest was “reinvigorated” by a 2017 New York Times article about U.S. Navy pilots seeing unexplained aerial phenomenon, then by a 2023 Congressional subcommittee hearing on the topic.

“I don’t know any more than any of you do,” Spielberg said, “but I have a very strong, sticky suspicion that we are not alone here on Earth right now. And I made a movie about that.”

Spielberg and “The Big Picture” co-host Sean Fennessey taping a live podcast at SXSW on Friday.

(Tibrina Hobson / Getty Images)

As to how he feels about that possibility, Spielberg added, “I’m not afraid of any aliens, there or here. I have no fears about that, whatsoever. I think our movie does take into consideration, without giving too much away, the social dislocation that could occur, theologically, if it would be announced that there’s evidence — not only evidence, where it’s interaction that’s has been going on for decades, that we are not just now finding out about. It is going to cause a disruption in a lot of belief systems, but I don’t think it’s a lethal disruption at all.”

Among other topics that were discussed, Spielberg revealed he is developing a western that would shoot in Texas, though he was reluctant to discuss it in any further detail except to say it would contain “no tropes.”

He also said he is not on any social media, but did install Instagram on his phone once for two weeks and felt as if he had been abducted by aliens for the amount of time he lost.

To that end, he also noted, with comic frustration, how he himself has never had any sort of alien encounter.

”I made a movie called ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind.’ I haven’t even had a close encounter of the first or second kind,” Spielberg said. “Where’s the justice in that? If you’re listening out there, I’m talking to you.”

There was a brief moment of confusion when Fennessey asked Spielberg for his thoughts on AI and Spielberg wasn’t clear if he was asking about his own 2001 movie or the broader topic of artificial intelligence.

Once that was cleared up (Fennessey meant the latter, a serious labor issue in Hollywood), Spielberg noted he has not used AI on any of his own films. “I don’t want to go into a whole rant about AI because I am for AI in many different disciplines. I am not for AI if it replaces a creative individual.”

Speaking to the theatrical experience, Spielberg made a brief allusion to the flare-up around comments by Timothée Chalamet regarding the popularity of opera and ballet in relation to the movies.

He noted that he does not decry the at-home streaming experience and that he works with Netflix, but that “for me, the real experience comes when we can influence a community to congregate in a strange dark space. All us are strangers and, at the end of a really good movie experience, we are all united with a whole bunch of feelings that we walk into the daylight with or into the nighttime with. And there’s nothing like that. I mean, it happens in movies, it happens at concerts and it happens in ballet and opera.”

Here there was a round of applause from the audience. “And we want that sustained and we want that to go forever.”

Spielberg noted how many of his favorite filmmakers, including David Lean and Billy Wilder and more recent examples such as Paul Thomas Anderson and Christopher Nolan, are always making films that feel different from what they have done before. He sees himself as part of that same school.

“If we’re just not making the same sequel over and over and over again and they’re not the same Marvel title over and over and over again, we all get a real chance to experience something, which is freshness,” Spielberg said. “And that is why I don’t judge my accomplishments based on a single film.”

Videos posted by social media users showed smoke rising from the US embassy in Baghdad after a reported attack. Iraqi officials said a helipad at the embassy was hit by a missile.

A submarine is among the Iranian naval vessels that U.S. forces have struck with Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) short-range ballistic missiles. ATACMS cannot hit moving targets, so the submarine would have had to have been stationary in port when struck. TWZ was first to report earlier this week that M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers firing ATACMS, as well as Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) short-range ballistic missiles, had been aiding in the destruction of Iran’s Navy as part of Operation Epic Fury. The conflict has also marked the first combat use of PrSM, which brings a major boost in range over ATACMS.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff U.S. Air Force Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine put a particular spotlight on the contributions of field artillery units in current operations against Iran at a press conference at the Pentagon this morning.

“Today, I’m going to talk about our incredible artillery force, comprised of American soldiers and Marines who’ve been sinking ships, [and] destroying depots,” Caine said. “Our Army and Marine artillerymen are hitting sites that Iran relies on to project power beyond their borders and protect our deployed [forces].”

“In just the first 13 days of this operation, our artillery forces have made history. They fired the first Precision Strike Missiles ever used in combat, reaching deep into enemy territory,” the Chairman continued. He also said that soldiers from the Army’s 3rd Battalion, 27th Field Artillery, part of the 18th Field Artillery Brigade based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, were the ones to fire the first PrSMs against targets in Iran.

“They used Army ATACMS to sink multiple ships, including a submarine,” Caine added. “And they’ve done all of this with the precision and determination that comes from relentless training and trust in each other and in their weapon systems.”

“We’ve rendered the Iranian Navy combat ineffective,” but “continue to attack naval vessels,” Caine also said, speaking generally.

Caine did not name the Iranian submarine that was destroyed using ATACMS, nor did he say what class it was. TWZ has reached out for more information. There is no known operational version of ATACMS capable of hitting moving targets, so, as already noted, the missile would also have had to have been employed against a submarine in port or one that was otherwise stationary.

A review of satellite imagery in Planet Labs’ archive does show one of Iran’s three Russian-made Kilo class diesel-electric submarines sunk at Bandar Abbas as of March 4. The submarine had looked to be untouched in an earlier Planet Labs image taken on March 2 in the aftermath of a wave of strikes, as TWZ previously reported. Bandar Abbas is the Iranian Navy’s main base and occupies a particularly strategic position along the Strait of Hormuz.

In a video address on March 5, U.S. Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), had also said that “the most operational Iranian submarine … now has a hole in its side.” What submarine Cooper was referring to here remains unclear, but it may have been the Kilo class submarine struck at Bandar Abbas. At that time, his comments were also taken by many to be a reference to the IRIS Fateh, a domestically-produced diesel-electric coastal attack submarine that entered Iranian service in 2019. The fate of that boat remains unconfirmed.

On March 10, CENTCOM released the video seen below, showing strikes on various Iranian vessels at sea and in port, including what looks to be a Ghadir class diesel-electric midget submarine. That boat was struck by an AGM-114 Hellfire missile, a U.S. official told TWZ. How many Ghadir class submarines were in Iran’s inventory before the current conflict is not clear, but prior estimates had generally put the size of that fleet at between 16 and 20 hulls.

Regardless, it makes good sense that the U.S. military would focus on neutralizing Iran’s submarine force, and doing so in port if possible, as part of the larger objective of neutering the country’s naval capabilities. Finding, fixing, and engaging submerged submarines, even older and louder designs, can take significant time and effort, as you can read about in more detail in this past TWZ feature. Iranian submarines could have been used to discreetly lay mines, as well as to attempt attacks on friendly warships or commercial vessels. As it stands now, maritime traffic in and out of the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz has still ground to a virtual halt over concerns about mines and other remaining Iranian threats, which is already having global ramifications.

Chairman Caine’s comments today also reinforce the role that ATACMS and PrSM have been playing in the current conflict, in general. TWZ previously noted that this is a preview of what one would expect to see from U.S. forces in other future conflicts, especially when it comes to using ballistic missiles in the anti-ship role as part of a high-end fight with China in the Pacific. PrSM, which only began entering service in the past two years or so, offers significantly greater reach than ATACMS, allowing it to hold a much broader swath of territory at risk from any launch position.

Just yesterday, Lockheed Martin also announced the first test launch of a full-up Increment 2 PrSM, an anti-ship optimized version in development now. In that test, a HIMARS launcher fired the Increment 2 missile, which flew out to a range of around 217 and a half miles (350 kilometers), according to a company press release. The Increment 2 PrSM features an additional multi-mode seeker specifically designed to allow it to engage moving targets at sea. Lockheed Martin also released the rendering below as part of its announcement yesterday, which looks to show apertures for the seeker system around the nose.

Questions do remain about the anti-ship and/or moving target capabilities that might be found on baseline Increment 1 PrSMs. A pair of “early operational capability” PrSMs – a term generally understood to refer to Increment 1 missiles – were fired at what was described as a moving maritime target during a test in the Pacific back in 2024.

In the meantime, the older ATACMS, which PrSM is set to eventually replace, has now scored a hit against an enemy submarine, albeit one not on the move.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

The Apprentice star Kieran McCartney has candidly opened up on his drug addiction, admitting he would spend £400-£500 a week on cocaine

A favourite on The Apprentice has candidly revealed he battled a cocaine addiction and was left with suicidal thoughts. Kieran McCartney opened up on his £500-a-week drug addiction – and the one call that allowed him to change his life.

The TV contestant, who worked as an estate agent, revealed he used his work phone to message dealers in East London during company time – both before and after his time on the BBC show. And he has revealed he “probably wouldn’t be here”if it wasn’t for his mother.

He revealed how his friendship group dwindled as pals grew embarrassed by how he was behaving on drugs or alcohol. But he confessed Lord Alan Sugar’s “you’re fired” catchphrase proved to him that he was able to give it up.

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He admitted he would splurge £400-£500 on cocaine on a weekly basis, spending hours in the pub five times a week. Speaking to The Sun, Kieran said: “It always came if I had a few drinks. I couldn’t drink without doing it. I’d maybe have four pints. Then I might have a little bit. And then have another four pints.”

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He confessed that he would sometimes find himself still up in the early hours despite having work the next day. He admitted he would feel “awful” but would always go to work.

Kieran denies ever using the drug while filming the reality TV show. And he blasted those who said he looked “wired” during the series.

“The Apprentice was an amazing experience — mentally very stressful,” he said. “But I’m in a good place now. It didn’t even cross my mind once. I would have loved a beer, absolutely. It was summertime. It was hot.

“But drugs? No. Definitely not. I had about 200 cigarettes on me when I went into the house. That was it.” And he told those online to stop and “don’t judge a book by its cover”.

Fans of the show are watching as he continues his bid to get the deal with Lord Sugar. Before appearing on the show, the estate agent said he wanted to rehabilitate his profession’s reputation.

To do so, he said he needed Lord Sugar’s investment to help him to branch out on his own. He said at the time: “I know the property game inside out.

“The wins, the pressure, and the graft it takes to succeed. But now it’s time to stop building someone else’s business and start building my own.”

*Frank offers confidential advice about drugs and addiction (email frank@talktofrank.com, message 82111 or call 0300 123 6600) or the NHS has information about getting help.

*If you’re struggling and need to talk, the Samaritans operate a free helpline open 24/7 on 116 123. Alternatively, you can email jo@samaritans.org or visit their site to find your local branch

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March 13 (Asia Today) — South Korea’s Unification Minister Chung Dong-young warned Friday that preparing for war could increase the likelihood of conflict on the Korean Peninsula, emphasizing that “peace itself is the path forward.”

Chung made the remarks during the third meeting of the Korean Peninsula Peace Strategy Advisory Group held at the Inter-Korean Talks Headquarters in Seoul.

“People often speak lightly of war and repeat the phrase that if you want peace, you must prepare for war,” Chung said. “But preparing for war only raises the chances of war.”

Chung also pointed to growing global instability, citing the upcoming U.S.-China summit and tensions related to the Iran crisis.

“The Korean Peninsula sits on unstable ground and tends to sway whenever global events shift,” he said.

Noting the global interconnectedness of security issues, Chung said the distance between Seoul and Tehran is about 6,700 kilometers but developments in the Middle East can still affect the Korean Peninsula.

“A war 6,700 kilometers away is shaking the Korean Peninsula,” he said, adding that the situation underscored the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the region.

Experts attending the meeting suggested that North Korea’s recently proposed “two-state theory” should be reinterpreted in light of current conditions.

They proposed linking it to the inter-Korean confederation stage of South Korea’s long-standing National Community Unification Plan and called for the creation of a new peace roadmap for the Korean Peninsula reflecting changing security dynamics.

Participants also urged the government to shift from a “pace-maker” role to a more proactive “peace-maker” role by expanding diplomatic engagement.

They recommended exploring multilateral approaches involving neighboring countries and international organizations in addition to dialogue between the United States and China.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260313010004062

The makers of the Ukrainian Sting interceptor drone told The War Zone that despite growing interest in the Middle East for their product, they are not yet allowed to sell them outside the country. Other Ukrainian drone manufacturers, like SkyFall, are also reportedly interested in providing interceptors to the region.

In Ukraine, the small drones have proven to be a far cheaper alternative to munitions like Patriot interceptors and even far less advanced missiles for downing Shahed drones which have caused widespread destruction across Ukraine. Since the launch of Operation Epic Fury, that country has been firing Shaheds across the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility (AOR). That includes a March 1 strike on Kuwait that killed six U.S. Army soldiers.

“Our priority is Ukraine’s defense,” Wild Hornets spokesman Alex Roslin told us on Thursday. “Exports of drones are not permitted at this time.”

Відео 100 збиттів шахедів перехоплювачем #STING #wildhornets #дикішершні #fpv

However, “the Ukrainian government is engaged in bilateral discussions with partner countries about supplying drones,” he added. 

Should the law change, Wild Hornets has the capacity to provide drones to foreign nations, Roslin explained.

“As part of those discussions, the Wild Hornets are ready to fulfill whatever need may fall on us to help Ukraine’s strategic partners if called on to do so.”

There seems to be a willingness to make key changes to the law to make it happen. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Ukrainian military experts were in the Middle East to share their experience after four years of bombardment by Russian Shaheds and that 11 nations are interested in obtaining these interceptors and other counter-drone systems.

It is no surprise that there would be wide interest in counter-drone drones. With a price tag of roughly between $1,000 and $2,500 a piece, they are a small fraction of the cost of the multi-million dollar Patriot interceptors or even less expensive types, still costing a million dollars or more, being used by the U.S. and allies.

Beyond cost, the interceptor drones, 3-D printed weapons that look like 1950’s-era toy rockets, are far easier and quicker to produce than surface-to-air missiles.

Small enough to fit inside a backpack, they can reach speeds of up to 173 miles an hour, according to Wild Hornets. Some of Ukraine’s interceptors “combine thermal imaging with radar tracking and AI-assisted guidance, with a human operator taking manual control for the final seconds of the intercept,” Military Times noted. Sting interceptors are manually operated by pilots, Roslin stated.

In a post on X, Wild Hornets denied it was in direct negotiations with Saudi Arabia to sell the Sting drones, a claim made Thursday by The Wall Street Journal.

“Recent reporting by The Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous sources, suggested that Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, is in negotiations with Wild Hornets regarding the purchase of interceptor drones to protect oil facilities from Iranian UAV attacks. This information does not reflect the current position or activities of our company. “

Wild Hornets “regularly receives inquiries from representatives of countries across the Middle East and the European Union regarding potential exports of the STING interceptor system, which has proven highly effective against Shahed-type drones in real combat conditions,” the X post continued.

Wild Hornets is reportedly one of at least two Ukrainian companies whose interceptors are garnering interest in the Middle East in the wake of Iranian Shahed attacks.

Earlier this week, another large Ukrainian drone producer called SkyFall said its manufacturing capacity ​had outgrown Ukraine’s ability to purchase its systems and the company was ready to export, according to Reuters.

“We have had interest and inquiries from our (allies) and countries in the Middle East,” a company representative told the outlet.

While these small drone interceptors have proven successful in Ukraine and show real promise for applications elsewhere, their baseline capabilities are quite different from an actual surface to air missile, especially medium and long-range types. They have to be distributed far more broadly in order to be able to effectively respond to incoming drone threats, whereas a SAM can cover a much larger area and respond far quicker to the threat due to their high-speeds.

The lack of response speed also means that early warning is more critical, especially for area defense duties, as opposed to defending a specific facility or small area of a population center. Regardless, their cost differential and ease of deployment can overcome many of these drawbacks, especially when paired with tailored tactics, in order to get the price of interceptors far down and putting more defenses in more areas.

There are other inexpensive alternatives to costly interceptors that have taken center stage in conflicts as of late.

As we have previously noted, air-to-air optimized versions of the 70mm Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II (APKWS II) have become a principal air-to-air counter-drone weapon for U.S. forces, which began using the rockets in this way on F-16 Vipers back in 2024. That capability was extended to the F-15E Strike Eagle and A-10 Warthog and soon to the U.S. Marine Corps legacy F/A-18C/D Hornet.

The U.S. also has a ground-based system, called Vampire, that also uses these APKWS rockets. This system is deployed in small numbers to the Middle East and in larger numbers to Ukraine.

In addition, the U.S. reportedly sent 10,000 interceptor drones used in Ukraine to the Middle East.

Known as Merops, the system flies drones against drones, The Associated Press explained.

“It is small enough to fit in the back of a midsize pickup truck, can identify drones and close in on them, using artificial intelligence to navigate when satellite and electronic communications are jammed,” according to the wire service.

Last week, we asked Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, about Ukrainian interceptors.

“I’m not familiar with the particular offer, but the interceptors in general, we’ve had a number of new capabilities being fielded,” Cooper told us during a press conference held at CENTCOM headquarters in Tampa. “Obviously, I’m not going to talk about it from the operational perspective of what those are, but I think you have seen over a period of time us kind of get on the other side of this cost curve on drones in general.”

“If I just walk back a couple of years, remember what you used to always hear, we’re shooting down a $50,000 drone with a $2 million missile,” he added. “These days, we’re spending a lot of time shooting down $100,000 drones with $10,000” weapons.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has dismissed the need for Ukrainian help in combating Iranian drones and War Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday downplayed the threat from Iranian drones and missiles. He proclaimed that one of Epic Fury’s main goals is diminishing Iran’s capacity to launch and build these weapons.

“Their missile launchers and drones being destroyed or shot out of the sky,” he told reporters, including from The War Zone. “Their missile volume is down 90%. Their one way attack drones yesterday down 95%.”

Hegseth: Iran has no real air defenses, air force, or navy left. Their missiles, launchers, and drones are being destroyed.

Missile attacks are down about 90%, and one-way attack drones dropped about 95%.

2/ pic.twitter.com/pyai9V2bNC

— Tymofiy Mylovanov (@Mylovanov) March 13, 2026

Still, the interest in the Middle East for Ukrainian drone interceptors remains high.

“This phone has been ringing off the hook,” Oleg Rogynskyy, the chief executive of Uforce, a conglomerate of Ukrainian defense technology start-ups, told The New York Times.

Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com

Gary Wilmot reprised his role as journalist Anton Busette in the latest episode of Death in Paradise

Popular series Death in Paradise has announced the return of a familiar face, much to viewers’ delight.

The 15th series of the enduring detective drama is currently broadcasting on BBC One, with DI Mervin Wilson (Don Gilet) and his colleagues solving more puzzling deaths on Saint Marie.

After following Mervin, Naomi (portrayed by Shantol Jackson) and Selwyn’s (Don Warrington) escapades in Antigua, the penultimate episode shifted back to Saint Marie, with the protagonist grappling with his abduction and revelations about his brother.

Mervin swiftly resumed his duties following the murder of the island newspaper’s agony aunt, Hortense LeRoux (Anna Savva). At the start of the episode, the Commissioner and Mayor Bordey (Elizabeth Bourgine) attended Hortense’s leaving celebration. Tragically, the occasion ended in disaster when Hortense was poisoned the next day, whilst reading her final advice column, reports the Express.

Audiences also recognised a returning character at the gathering, with journalist Anton Busette (Gary Wilmot) making a notable appearance. This marks Anton’s second stint on the programme.

Fans will recall that he created considerable controversy earlier in the series through his attempts to undermine the police force and damage the Commissioner’s reputation. The character swiftly emerged as a suspect during Friday’s (March 13) instalment, given he was the former spouse of the murdered agony aunt.

Expressing her views on Anton, Mayor Bordey remarked: “Men like him [are] hungry lions, looking at you like you’re a tasty steak at a buffet.”

Despite his character’s shortcomings, Death in Paradise enthusiasts were thrilled to witness British legend Gary Wilmot reprising his role, with numerous viewers expressing their delight on social media. “Ooh! Gary Wilmot back on #DeathinParadise!” one viewer posted on X (formerly Twitter), whilst another contributed a string of celebratory emojis.

A third commented: “Keep thinking about how my dad has played football with Gary Wilmot and seeing him as Anton is so weird,” whilst another fan voiced apprehension about Gary’s character, stating: “I’m sensing bad vibes from Gary Wilmot’s character.”

Later in the episode, Mervin and Naomi persuaded Mayor Bordey to operate covertly and extract information from Anton, with the journalist promptly divulging some of his secrets.

Disclosing that Hortense’s daughter, Esme (Emma McDonald), wasn’t her biological offspring, Anton revealed: “She took her from Paris when she was a baby. Her mother wasn’t able to take care of her, a drug addict I believe… Hortense couldn’t have children.”

Anton went on to reveal that Hortense relocated to Saint Marie and falsified Esme’s birth certificate to make it appear as though she was her biological daughter. However, the atmosphere quickly changed when Anton discovered he was being recorded, with the journalist cautioning Mervin: “This won’t be the last you hear of me, I’ll be calling your Commissioner.” Was Anton responsible for his ex-wife’s death?

Death in Paradise is available to stream on BBC iPlayer

For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new Everything Gossip website

“The US Navy at this point can’t even get anywhere close to the Strait of Hormuz without being attacked.” Experts are pouring cold water on Pete Hegseth’s claims that the US is working effectively to reopen the world’s most crucial shipping lane.

Rights groups have slammed United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth for saying that “no quarter” will be shown to Iran, as the US and Israel continue their military campaign against the country.

“We will keep pressing. We will keep pushing, keep advancing. No quarter, no mercy for our enemies,” Hegseth told reporters on Friday.

Under the Hague Convention and other international treaties, it is illegal to threaten that no quarter will be given.

Domestic laws, such as the 1996 War Crimes Act, also prohibit such policies. US military manuals likewise warn that threats of “no quarter” are illegal.

Brian Finucane, a senior adviser at the International Crisis Group, a think tank, said Hegseth’s comments appear to run afoul of those standards.

“These comments are very striking,” Finucane told Al Jazeera over a phone call. “It raises questions about whether this belligerent, lawless rhetoric is being translated into how the war is being conducted on the battlefield.”

But Hegseth has publicly dismissed concerns about international law, claiming he would abide no “stupid rules of engagement” and no “politically correct wars”.

His rhetoric has provoked concern among some experts that measures designed to prevent civilian harm are being ignored in favour of a campaign of “maximum lethality”.

Hegseth’s remarks also come after a US strike on a girls’ school in southern Iran that killed more than 170 people, most of them children. The war has left at least 1,444 Iranians dead and millions more displaced.

‘Inhumane and counterproductive’

Prohibitions against declaring “no quarter” go back more than a century, part of an effort to impose restraints on conduct during war.

The Nuremberg trials after World War II upheld that legal standard, as Nazi officials were prosecuted, in some cases, for denying quarter to enemy forces.

“The basic idea is that it’s both inhumane and counterproductive to execute people who have laid down their arms,” said Finucane.

He added that the “mere announcement” of “no quarter” from a government official can itself be a war crime.

The US and Israel have already faced allegations of violating international law during their war against Iran. Experts have condemned their initial strike on February 28 as “unprovoked”, deeming the conflict an illegal war of aggression.

Iranian officials also protested after a US submarine sank a military vessel, the IRIS Dena, off the coast of Sri Lanka, as it returned from a ceremonial naval exercise in India. That attack killed at least 84 people.

While warships are considered legal military targets, Iran has said that the ship was not fully armed, raising questions about whether it could have been interdicted rather than sunk.

US forces also purportedly declined to help rescue sailors from the Dena, even though the Geneva Convention largely requires aid to the shipwrecked. The Sri Lankan navy ultimately helped collect survivors from the wreckage.

Responding to the attack, Hegseth described the sinking of the ship as a “quiet death”. He also told reporters, “We are fighting to win.”

US President Donald Trump himself remarked that he asked why the ship had been sunk, not captured.

“One of my generals said, ‘Sir, it’s a lot more fun doing it this way,’” Trump said.

‘Serious red flag’

The US military has faced criticism for killing civilians in military operations for decades.

That includes during the so-called “global war on terror”, when airstrikes resulted in thousands of civilian deaths, including a 2008 attack on a wedding party in Afghanistan.

Even before the war with Iran, the Trump administration had faced accusations that it violated international law by attacking alleged drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean.

At least 157 people have been killed in those attacks since they started on September 2.

The Trump administration, however, has never identified the victims nor presented evidence against them. Scholars have condemned the attacks as a campaign of extrajudicial killings.

Analysts say that the Pentagon’s policies of emphasising lethality at the expense of human rights concerns has carried over into its war against Iran.

“Death and destruction from the sky all day long. We’re playing for keeps. Our warfighters have maximum authorities granted personally by the president and yours truly,” Hegseth said during a briefing on March 4.

“Our rules of engagement are bold, precise and designed to unleash American power, not shackle it.”

Sarah Yager, the Washington director at Human Rights Watch, called such rhetoric alarming.

“I’ve been engaging with the US military for two decades, and I’m shocked by this language. Rhetoric from senior leaders matters because it helps shape the command environment in which US forces operate,” Yager said.

“From an atrocity-prevention perspective, language that dismisses legal restraints is a serious red flag.”

While the impact of Hegseth’s rhetoric on combat operations is not certain, a recent report from the watchdog group Airwars found that the pace of the US and Israeli assault on Iran has far outstripped other military operations in modern history.

Reports indicate that the US dropped nearly $5.6bn worth of munitions in the first two days of the war alone. Airwars says the US and Israel hit more targets in the first 100 hours of the Iran war than in the first six months of the US campaign against ISIL (ISIS).

Following Hegseth’s remarks on Friday, Senator Jeff Merkley condemned the Pentagon chief as a “dangerous amateur”. He cited the attack on the Iranian girls’ school as an example of the consequences.

“His ‘no hesitation’ engagement rules set the stage for failing to distinguish a civilian school from a military target,” Merkley wrote in a social media post.

“The result, more than 150 dead schoolgirls and teachers from an American missile.”

The first instalment of The Claudia Winkleman show had fans rushing to social media to vent their opinions as the former Strictly host spoke to a star-studded guest list

Claudia Winkleman has fronted her new show and fans are immediately having their say. The star of The Traitors and formerly of Strictly Come Dancing is now sharing Graham Norton’s Friday evening talk slot as she entertains on her own brand new series.

It marks Claudia’s first new solo gig since she and co-host Tess Daly stepped down from hosting Strictly Come Dancing. And The Traitors star admitted the new venture as “really scary” as she readied herself to speak to a star-studded line-up of famous faces from the world of TV, music, and more.

The aptly named The Claudia Winkleman Show, is filmed in front of a live studio audience and the presenter said before the show she is “going to be awful”. And fans were quick to share whether they agreed with her statement as they rushed to Twitter /X during the first instalment.

READ MORE: Alan Davies leaves special gift for his children after ‘difficult’ pastREAD MORE: Where is Death in Paradise’s Josephine Jobert after heartbreaking exit?

One viewer sighed: “So Television is Graham Norton’s production company, they also produce The Claudia Winkleman Show which is why, despite a set change, the format is identical. A shame nothing different was attempted with this chat show!”

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Another complained: “The Claudia Winkleman Show is just the Graham Norton Show without Graham Norton.” And a third said: “This is just not working the Claudia Winkleman show is dull as the dark teal sofa.”

However, others were appreciating the new show – including guest Tom Allen, who ssaid it was a great show. On Instagram he said: “It was FABULOUS to be part of!”

And a X user also seemed to enjoy the set up. “First thoughts about The Claudia Winkleman Show, not that much different from The Graham Norton Show really but I love her anyway,” they said. Another added: “The Claudia Winkleman Show gets four stars. . . .A welcome contrast to the Graham Norton Show, which is a very, very out-of-step production.”

The opening instalment of Claudia Winkleman’ s new chat show sees Jennifer Saunders confess that she and Dawn French once made plan to take ecstasy together – but were thwarted.

Jennifer, who appeared on the show to promoted her new film The Magic Faraway Tree, revealed: “Dawn and I once thought we’d be really daring, and we got an ecstasy tablet. We thought one day when we’re alone – we could take half an ecstasy tablet. We kept it on Dawn’s mantlepiece and one day, about six months later, we thought ‘OK, we’re ready’.”

Before the show aired, Claudia had said: “I can’t quite believe it, and I’m incredibly grateful to the BBC for this amazing opportunity. I’m obviously going to be awful, that goes without saying, but I’m over the moon they’re letting me try.”

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Voters in the Republic of Congo will choose their next president on Sunday, although longtime leader Dennis Sassou Nguesso is likely to be elected unchallenged, analysts say.

The central African nation, which has been led almost continuously by Nguesso for more than 40 years, is one of the most politically repressive in the world, with Freedom House giving it a 17 out of 100 rating for freedom.

The country is Africa’s third-largest oil exporter. It sells between 236,000 and 252,000 barrels per day, alongside copper and diamonds.

Congo is also highly biodiverse. Sprawling expanses of tropical rainforest in the country form part of the Congo Basin – the second-largest rainforest network in the world after the Amazon. The Nouabale-Ndoki National Park in the north is a UNESCO World Heritage site and is home to elephants, endangered lowland gorillas, and chimpanzees.

Still, the country of 6 million people is racked by economic woes. Corruption and mismanagement, analysts say, contribute to Congo being 171st of 193 countries on the United Nations Human Development Index.

A fractured political opposition, meanwhile, has only allowed Nguesso’s governing Congolese Labour Party (PCT) to consolidate power over the years, although a newcomer is raising hopes.

Here’s what we know about Sunday’s polls:

When do polls open?

Polls will open on Saturday, March 15, between 6am (05:00 GMT) and 6pm (05:00 GMT). More than 2.6 million people are eligible to vote; that is, they are more than 18 years old and have been registered.

Voter turnout in 2021 — during the last election — was 67.70 percent according to the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES). Authorities have announced that borders will be closed during voting.

Candidates with an absolute majority usually win the elections, or in rare cases, a run-off will be called between the two top polling candidates.

Presidential terms in Congo are for five years. While the constitution had previously allowed a maximum of two terms and an age limit of 70, those were removed in 2015.

Who’s running?

Dennis Sassou Nguesso: The 82-year-old was first elected to office in 1979 and led the country for 12 years under a one-party state. He lost elections after opposition lawmakers voted to introduce a multiparty system. On his second attempt in 1997, he seized power in a bloody civil war and has remained in office since. He is Africa’s third-longest serving ruler.

Nguesso’s legacy has been one of gross underdevelopment and corruption, said Andrea Ngombet, the exiled founder of Sassoufit, a group advocating for Nguesso’s exit. In 2015, Nguesso pushed through a controversial referendum that reset presidential term limits from two to three. It also completely removed age restrictions, allowing him to run for the fifth consecutive time in 2021.

A strong hold on the country’s judiciary and the Independent National Electoral Body (CENI) has helped secure Nguesso’s hold, analysts say. His strategic international alliances, from Beijing to Moscow to Paris, have ensured foreign investments and boosted his influence, according to Ngombet. However, since 2013, France has launched investigations into his family’s numerous assets in Europe and the US under pressure from civil society. French authorities seized property belonging to his son, Denis-Christel Sassou Nguesso, in 2022.

Melaine Deston Gavet Elengo: At only 35, Elengo’s candidacy has caused ripples. The oil sector engineer leads the Republican Movement and is the youngest contender in the race. Although a first-time presidential candidate, Elengo appears to be pulling an unusual amount of interest as he presents himself as a departure from the old system. His campaign has emphasised a government built on transparency, an independent justice system, and inclusive development.

“He could secure at least 20 percent of the vote, signalling a generational shift,” Ngombet said.

“His unique advantage lies in the unspoken support from UPADS dissidents frustrated with the boycott,” he added, referring to the opposition party, Pan-African Union for Social Democracy (UPADS), which boycotted the March 21, 2021, presidential election over concerns of integrity. UPADS is doing the same this year but has called on its supporters to go out and vote according to their “conscience”.

Elengo is also closely allied with political heavyweights like the opposition Union of Humanist Democrats, founded by the popular opposition figure, late Guy-Brice Parfait Kolelas, who came second in 2016.

Joseph Kignoumbi Kia Mboungou, 73: The veteran lawmaker is the leader of the political party The Chain and represents the southwestern Lekoumou department. He has run several times in the past without much success, with his 2021 bid resulting in just 0.62 percent of the vote. Mboungou’s campaign promised political change and an economy that diversifies from oil, while reducing poverty.

Uphrem Dave Mafoula, 43: The economist is leader of the New Start party. He is making his second bid for the top post after running as the youngest candidate in 2021 and securing just 0.52 percent of the vote. Mafoula’s goal, he says, is to implement governance reforms, create jobs, and reduce inequalities.

Vivien Romain Manangou, 43: The independent first-timer is a university lecturer campaigning on institutional reforms, improving public finances, and promoting national unity.

Mabio Mavoungou Zinga, 69: Running under the opposition coalition Alliance party, the retired customs inspector and former member of parliament promises to tackle corruption and free jailed opposition leaders. It’s his first bid.

Anguios Nganguia Engambe, about 60: The president of the Party for Action of the Republic is running for his fourth time as presidential candidate. In 2021, he won only 0.18 percent of the vote. This time, he has pledged to bridge political divisions in the country and foster better political participation.

Which opposition leaders have been targeted?

Several opposition leaders are either jailed or have fled into exile. Some are:

Jean-Marie ⁠Michel Mokoko,78: A former chief of the army and an adviser to Nguesso, who turned against the president and ran for elections in 2016. He called for protests after the results showed that he won 13.74 percent and placed third. He was arrested afterwards on charges of undermining state security and was in 2018 sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Andre Okombi Salissa: a one-time leading member of the governing Congolese Labour Party, and a former minister, Salissa also switched to the opposition in 2016 to contest the polls. He was arrested shortly after, also on security charges. In 2019, he was sentenced to 20 years of hard labour.

What are the key issues?

Poverty despite oil riches

Analysts have long warned that a lack of economic diversification hurts the country’s prospects. As Africa’s third-largest oil producer, Congo earns more than 80 percent of its export revenue from oil, according to the World Bank,  making the economy vulnerable to shocks.

Government investment in hydrocarbons has only intensified in recent years. In 2015, authorities aimed to boost daily output to 500,000 barrels of oil per day within three years. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) production and export also began in 2024.

Despite this, around half the population lives below the poverty line. Most live in the main cities of Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire where access to electricity and roads is available but dismal. The situation is even worse in rural areas, analysts say.

While the population is young, with nearly half under 18, job creation is weak. Many young people with degrees have to turn to menial work for survival. The unemployment rate hovers at approximately 40 percent, with inadequate electricity being one of the major barriers for business, according to the World Bank.

Forests and agriculture

Before it began extracting oil in the 1970s, agricultural produce and timber were the biggest revenue generators in Congo.

However, Congo has become reliant on food imports amid the shift to oil.

Although the country has up to 10 million hectares (24 milllion acres) of arable land, only a small percentage is being cultivated, and that’s mostly for low-yield subsistence farming.

The government has touted plans to boost cassava, maize, sorghum, and soy farming, along with developing fisheries and poultry.

Meanwhile, deforestation in the Congo Basin, which encompasses parts of Congo and five neighbouring countries, nearly doubled between 2010 and 2020, compared to the previous decade.

Political freedom and post-Nguesso race

Protests are rare in the country as authorities don’t provide permits and respond with violence when demonstrators gather, according to the Africa Center for Strategic Studies.

Opposition members are routinely jailed. Nguesso appoints national judges himself, meaning the judiciary is not independent.

Many Congolese expect Nguesso to win Sunday’s elections, so much attention is now on who will likely take over leadership in the country in the coming years.

Analysts say an intense succession race is already brewing behind the scenes.

Denis-Christel Nguesso, the president’s son and minister of international cooperation, is the clear favourite, but he faces challenges from the president’s nephew and Head of National Security Jean-Dominique Okemba.

The Nguessos’ cousin, Jean-Jacques Bouya, who is currently the minister of planning and works, is another contender.

The Pentagon is reportedly moving a Marine Expeditionary Unit and additional warships to the Middle East, as the war with Iran continues. The move, reported by The Wall Street Journal, will help respond to the Iranian campaign of attacks against shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. So far, Tehran has remained committed to its pledge of paralyzing oil tanker traffic through the strategic waterway.

The WSJ reports that U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has approved a request from U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) for an element of an Amphibious Ready Group and attached Marine Expeditionary Unit, citing three U.S. officials. An Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) typically includes an assault ship, two transport docks, and a support vessel that carries an embarked Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) of at least 2,200 Marines.

Two of those officials said that the ARG would be centered around the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli, said to be now headed for the Middle East from its normal base in Japan.

It’s possible other Amphibious Ready Groups could also deploy to the Middle East, if called upon.

A Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) is a highly versatile, self-sustained, rapid-response force. Embarked aboard amphibious assault and landing ships, each MEU has fully integrated air, ground, and logistics components. Its four key elements are as follows:

Command Element: Serves as the headquarters for the entire unit and allows a single command to exercise control over all ground, aviation, and combat service support forces.

Ground Combat Element: Provides the MEU with its main combat punch. Built around a Marine infantry battalion, and reinforced with artillery, amphibious vehicles, engineers, and reconnaissance assets.

Aviation Combat Element: The ACE consists of a composite medium helicopter squadron containing transport helicopters of various models and capabilities, attack helicopters and jets, air defense teams, and all necessary ground support assets.

Logistics Combat Element: Providing the MEU with mission-essential support such as medical assistance, motor transport, supply, equipment maintenance, and landing.

A MEU would bring a wide range of capabilities to the fight. This can include additional aircraft to strike targets inland, including F-35Bs, and to execute sea control missions, going after Iranian small boats for instance. The latter can be done by embarked AH-1Z and UH-1Y helicopters, as well as F-35Bs. Then there is the assault component, with the ability to airlift Marines anywhere within the reach of its rotary wing component, which also includes MV-22s and CH-53s. The Aviation Combat Element can be tailored to the mission. This can include loading the deck with F-35s or putting a much higher priority on air assault capabilities. The USS Tripoli, which is aviation-focused and lacks a well deck, is specifically built for this kind of augmented air combat element, including being turned into a F-35 “Lightning Carrier.” You can read all about this here.

The MEU can also support beach landing and heavy surface logistical support. The Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) that makes up the entire flotilla also includes surface combatant escorts that can lend their Aegis capabilities to the fight and launch Tomahawks on demand.

While the carrier strike groups get the most attention for their ability to hit hard from a distance, the MEU/ESG is truly America’s most versatile maritime capability.

In other news, in his latest update on the war on Iran, Secretary Hegseth claims that Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has been “wounded and likely disfigured” in the ongoing U.S.-Israeli attacks. The defense secretary also pushed back on claims that Iran has begun mining the Strait of Hormuz as it continues its campaign against international shipping in the strategic chokepoint.

In a press conference today, the defense secretary said, “We know the new so-called not-so-supreme leader is wounded and likely disfigured. He put out a statement yesterday — a weak one, actually — but there was no voice, and there was no video. It was a written statement.”

As to why a written statement was issued, and Mojtaba Khamenei didn’t appear in person, Hegseth added: “I think you know why.”

Hegseth also promised that today will see the highest number of U.S. strikes so far against Iranian targets.

“Their production lines, their military plants, their defense innovation centers; defeated,” Hegseth claimed. “Iran’s leadership is in no better shape. Desperate and hiding, they’ve gone underground, cowering — that’s what rats do.”

Hegseth said the Iranian regime will only see the stars and stripes of the United States and Israel’s star of David, which he describes as “their worst nightmare.”

The Iranian regime has been the number one threat to peace and stability in the Middle East for years. U.S. forces continue to take decisive steps to neutralize Iran’s power projection capabilities. pic.twitter.com/JOT7rRGH7L

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 13, 2026

In the Strait of Hormuz, Hegseth said that the U.S. military is “dealing with” Iran’s attacks on shipping, and that this is not something it needs to be worried about.

Hegseth dismissed suggestions that Iran has mined the strait, through which around a fifth of the world’s oil passes.

“We’ve heard them talk about it just like you’ve reported recklessly and wildly about it. But … we have no clear evidence of that,” he explained.

Hegseth says there is “no clear evidence” Iran has placed mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

— Lucas Tomlinson (@LucasFoxNews) March 13, 2026

Asked when the Strait of Hormuz might become operational again, Hegseth said: “The only thing prohibiting traffic in the strait at the moment is Iran shooting at shipping.” He said that the United States “has a plan for every option” and that it will not allow the strait to remain “contested.”

Hegseth: “The only thing prohibiting transit in [Hormuz] right now is Iran shooting at shipping.”

“It is open for transit should Iran not do that” pic.twitter.com/MZ4vx7NQnj

— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) March 13, 2026

According to a report in The New York Times, at least 16 oil tankers, cargo vessels, and other commercial ships have been attacked in the Persian Gulf since the war against Iran began nearly two weeks ago.

Iran has claimed responsibility for several of the attacks. Hegseth also criticized as “bad reporting” the suggestion that Iran could launch a drone attack on California.

“There’s a lot of things Iran has said it could do for a long time, including engaging their proxies and getting them involved in the fight, which they haven’t been able to do. So, we’re watching that very closely,” he said.

Citing multiple sources familiar with the matter, CNN reports that the Pentagon and National Security Council “significantly underestimated” Iran’s willingness to close the Strait of Hormuz in response to U.S. military strikes while Operation Epic Fury was being planned.

“Top Trump officials acknowledged to lawmakers during recent classified briefings that they did not plan for the possibility of Iran closing the strait in response to strikes.”https://t.co/dgNukmCUA9

— Ryan Goodman (@rgoodlaw) March 13, 2026

BREAKING: The Trump administration planned for missile retaliation, proxy attacks, and cyber operations. It did not plan for Iran to weaponize the most important energy chokepoint on Earth.

The Strait of Hormuz.

According to a CNN report on internal US discussions, senior… pic.twitter.com/TIFzXCZR9h

— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) March 13, 2026

The headline in the Hezbollah-linked Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar this morning reads: “Iran Activates the Hormuz Weapon. Going All the Way.”

הכותרת הבוקר של העיתון אל-אח’באר הלבנוני המזוהה עם חיזבאללה: “איראן מפעילה את נשק הורמוז. הולכים עד הסוף” pic.twitter.com/2xS9cuTTo7

— roi kais • روعي كايس • רועי קייס (@kaisos1987) March 13, 2026

SCOOP: President Trump told G7 leaders this week that Iran is “about to surrender.”

The Iranian regime has shown no signs of imminent surrender or collapse — and on Day 14 of the war, is moving to gain more leverage by choking off the Strait of Hormuz. https://t.co/qHzPkisGKe

— Axios (@axios) March 13, 2026

In an interview with Fox News, U.S. President Donald Trump said that the U.S. military planned on hitting Iran “very hard” over the next week. A similar comment was posted on Trump’s Truth Social today, in which he said: “Watch what happens to these deranged scumbags today. They’ve been killing innocent people all over the world for 47 years, and now I, as the 47th President of the United States of America, am killing them,” he wrote. “What a great honor it is to do so!”

Gen. Dan Caine, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, today commented on the use of the new Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) short-range ballistic missile, which he confirmed saw its combat debut in the operation against Iran.

Caine said that the PrSM “reaching deep into enemy territory”. He said he spoke to one member of the crew of the system. “I asked him to walk me through a fire mission, not just what they do but what they feel,” he explained. “One of them just looked at me and said: ‘It’s awesome.’”

According to Caine, the U.S. military has hit 6,000 targets so far. In the process, Iran’s naval forces have been rendered “ineffective,” although Tehran still has the capability to harm “friendly forces” and commercial shipping.

This morning, another three U.S. Air Force B-52H bombers arrived at RAF Fairford in England. There are now six B-52s at the base, alongside 12 B-1B Lancers. Reports from the ground indicate that GBU-31 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) equipped with BLU-109 2,000-lb bunker buster warheads continue to be prepared for strikes on Iran.

More B52 Stratofortress long range bombers have arrived at RAF Fairford. Three landed this morning. There are now six on the ground. They join a fleet of 12 B1 Lancers. Two B1 bombers took off this morning. Supplies of JDAM bunker busting bombs continue to be moved around the… pic.twitter.com/XxwfWSRKQD

— Richard Gaisford (@richardgaisford) March 13, 2026

Air defenses in the United Arab Emirates intercepted 27 drones and seven ballistic missiles today, the UAE defense ministry said. Since the start of the conflict, UAE air defenses have shot down 285 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles, and 1,567 drones heading toward their territory.

In Oman, two people were killed today after air defenses intercepted a drone over the Al Awahi industrial area, according to state media. The drone was one of two that were shot by air defences on Friday, but the second one did not cause any injuries.

The Israeli military has launched a new campaign across Iran, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said today.

The IDF said its most recent wave of strikes included targets in Tehran, Shiraz, and Ahvaz. The IDF had earlier issued evacuation warnings for parts of Tehran and Qazvin, northwest of the capital.

Iranian state TV today reported explosions heard across Tehran. 

It appears that at least some of the strikes on the capital may have been deliberately timed to coincide with large-scale demonstrations against Israel and the United States, which have also involved some key regime figures.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi:

Today is Quds Day in Iran, and despite the brutal attacks by the Zionist regime and the United States, millions of Iranians have taken to the streets in Tehran and other cities, demonstrating their strong will and determination.

The… pic.twitter.com/GvRkfZw1HT

— Clash Report (@clashreport) March 13, 2026

Another WOW, Iranian top regime official, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i, the chief of judiciary, is also participating in a march in Tehran.

Amid Israeli strikes in the vicinity.

This guy is among a few people who actually run Iran. pic.twitter.com/FmsTkx85BI

— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) March 13, 2026

BREAKING: Huge marches and protests across Iran supporting the government while chanting “Death to Israel” and “Death to America”.

They really failed the regime change. pic.twitter.com/N1ttuazeqx

— Sulaiman Ahmed (@ShaykhSulaiman) March 13, 2026

Strikes reported in Tehran near the “Al-Quds Day” march. Iranian officials Ali Larijani and police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan attend the march pic.twitter.com/eZOxK5Da5p

— Faytuks Network (@FaytuksNetwork) March 13, 2026

BREAKING: A large explosion struck a square filled with demonstrators in Iran’s capital, Tehran, Iranian state television reported. The cause of the blast was not immediately known. Israel warned it could strike in the area just before the blast. https://t.co/YBy6NTDrj8

— The Associated Press (@AP) March 13, 2026

Funerals of eight Basijis militiamen were being held in southeastern neighborhood of Khavaran in Tehran today when a Israeli/Us drone struck – Hamshahri newspaper pic.twitter.com/hnJQ8DuIEh

— Fazel Hawramy (@FazelHawramy) March 13, 2026

Speaking yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had reportedly said that one of the Israeli goals of the war is to create the conditions for regime change, rather than forcing it directly. Whether regime change is achieved depends on the Iranian people, Netanyahu reportedly asserted.

President Trump has also urged Iranians to take to the streets once the bombing stops, but has also acknowledged that it will be very difficult for them to overthrow the regime.

“I really think that’s a big hurdle to climb for people that don’t have weapons. I think it’s a very big hurdle… It’ll happen, but… maybe not immediately,” Trump told Fox News Radio.

Trump:

Iran’s regime will fall, “but maybe not immediately.”

— Clash Report (@clashreport) March 13, 2026

Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice added her thoughts on the matter of regime change, noting that this was always very hard to achieve from the air, “and it is also very hard to shape the politics afterwards from the air.”

Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice:

It’s very hard to change a regime from the air, and it is also very hard to shape the politics afterwards from the air. pic.twitter.com/YSKPmUVOC9

— Clash Report (@clashreport) March 13, 2026

Dubai has also been on the receiving end of Iranian attacks. There were reports of in Dubai, where videos posted to social media showed a large cloud of smoke over a central area of the financial hub. Authorities there confirmed a fire in an industrial area.

🚨🚨
دبي .. اندلاع النيران في أحد أبراج منطقة كريك هاربور عقب استهدافها بطائرة مسيّرة pic.twitter.com/sW9S6iEQ3E

— حمود أبو مسمار (@ThayirAljanub) March 12, 2026

Explosions rattled buildings in Dubai and a large cloud of smoke hung over a central area of the financial hub on Friday, AFP correspondents report.

Sirens could be heard coming from the direction of Sheikh Zayed Road, the United Arab Emirates city’s main artery pic.twitter.com/M945PQl7un

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) March 13, 2026

Israel continues fighting on a second front in Iran, with the latest targets including the Zrarieh Bridge spanning the Litani River.

The IDF says it struck a bridge on the Litani River that was being used by Hezbollah as a “key crossing” to move from northern to southern Lebanon.

The Zrarieh Bridge was struck a short while ago.

According to the military, Hezbollah used the bridge “to move from the north to… pic.twitter.com/7Fq8nvrt0H

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 13, 2026

Israeli Minister of Defense Israel Katz vowed today that the Lebanese government “will pay increasing costs through damage to infrastructure and loss of territory” until Hezbollah is disarmed. “This is only the beginning,” Katz said, according to a report from Reuters.

🎯STRUCK: Hezbollah’s infrastructure across southern Lebanon:

📍Beirut: Assets of the “Al-Quard Al-Hassan”” Association and other significant financial assets of Hezbollah were struck. The recent strikes against the association have effectively and completely disrupted its… pic.twitter.com/g6BRa5LHjD

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) March 13, 2026

NATO air and missile defence assets have shot down another Iranian missile fired into Turkish airspace, Turkey’s defense ministry confirmed today. “All necessary measures are being taken decisively and without hesitation against any threat directed at our country’s territory and airspace,” the ministry said in a statement.

Turkey’s Defense Ministry says “a ballistic munition launched from Iran and entering Turkish airspace” was intercepted by NATO air defenses in the Eastern Mediterranean. The statement does not explicitly mention the reported incident near Incirlik Air Base last night. https://t.co/KxSV3uNEwq

— Julia Hahn (@juliahahntv) March 13, 2026

The video below purports to show the Iranian ballistic missile over Incirlik Air Base in Turkey.

Another video showing what appears to be a ballistic missile, likely launched by Iran, in the sky tonight over NATO’s Incirlik Air Base, located near Adana, Turkey. pic.twitter.com/Tyb79Rg99Q

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 13, 2026

According to Jake Epstein of Business Insider, the Iranian ballistic missile was brought down by the Arleigh Burke class destroyer USS Oscar Austin, using a Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) anti-missile interceptor. This is said to be the third time in the last two weeks that a U.S. Navy destroyer has used SM-3s to intercept an Iranian missile in Turkish airspace. SM-3 series interceptors are capable of engaging ballistic missiles outside of the Earth’s atmosphere during the mid-course portion of their flight.

New: A defense official tells me the USS Oscar Austin launched an SM-3 interceptor to shoot down the Iranian ballistic missile.

It’s a third time in the last two weeks that a US Navy destroyer in the Eastern Med has used SM-3s to intercept an Iranian missile in Turkish airspace. https://t.co/gHxjdyLirZ

— Jake Epstein (@byjepstein) March 13, 2026

French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed the first French military death of the war. He said that said a French soldier had been killed in an attack in Erbil in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region. Several other soldiers were wounded, he said. French Army soldiers had been engaged in training with Iraqi partners during the drone attack in the region.

Je m’incline devant la mémoire de l’adjudant-chef Arnaud Frion, mort pour la France cette nuit, lors d’une attaque dans la région d’Erbil, en Irak.
⁰Belle figure de soldat et de chef, il incarnait les plus hautes vertus d’un combattant de l’armée de Terre.⁰Mes pensées vont à sa… pic.twitter.com/cBXnGpJbJf

— Chef d’état-major de l’armée de Terre (@CEMAT_FR) March 13, 2026

Yesterday, Reuters reported that at least ​six French soldiers ‌were wounded in ​a ​drone attack targeting ⁠a ​joint Peshmerga-French ​base in the Makhmour area ​of ​Iraq.

Reports out of India suggest that New Delhi is set to repatriate the 183 crew members of the Iranian naval vessel IRIS Lavan as early as today. The sailors had been in the Indian port of Kochi since the Iranian amphibious vessel docked there on March 4 as tensions in the Middle East escalated.

India to repatriate 183 Iranian sailors from warship IRIS Lavan in Kochi. Repatriation can happen as early as today.

Reporting:https://t.co/8dTBLDSisc

— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) March 13, 2026

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) office has provided an update on an incident in which a cargo vessel was reported to have been hit by an unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz, which resulted in a fire onboard. The incident is said to have occurred 11 nautical miles north of Oman. The vessel had requested assistance, and the crew was previously said to be evacuating the vessel. While the fire onboard the vessel has been extinguished, as of today, at least some of the crew remain unlocated.

Footage has emerged showing the demise of the unique KC-747 aircraft formerly used by the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) during an attack on Mehrabad Air Base last week. The tanker version of the 747 was not flown anywhere else in the world, and Iran had just one flying example. You can read all about the aircraft in this past article. 

An unnamed IDF official talking to the Israeli N12 news channel provided their assessment of the interdiction campaign against Iranian missile launchers.

“We destroyed between 160 and 190 launchers, disabled another 200, and around 150 remain active,” the official claimed, noting that the United States “didn’t believe we would succeed in the decapitation strike.”

A senior military official:

“The Americans didn’t believe we would succeed in the decapitation strike.
We destroyed between 160–190 launchers, disabled another 200, and around 150 remain active. The missile crews are afraid to go out; there are desertions and refusals to…

— Amit Segal (@AmitSegal) March 13, 2026

Noteworthy, however, is an assessment from Bloomberg today, which states that the number of Iranian missile launchers has held steady after a week of unrelenting airstrikes, based on Israeli and Western estimates. “Finding the vehicles in such a large country, especially when some airspace is still dangerous for U.S. and Israeli aircraft, poses a huge challenge,” the article says.

There are rumors that the Iranian missile attack on Ali Al Salem Air Base last week may have destroyed three Kuwait Air Force Typhoon fighters that were based there. This remains unverified at this stage, although satellite evidence confirms that the facility was struck.

I’m hearing the attack on Ali Al Salem air base last week – 5/6 March – destroyed three Kuwait Air Force Typhoons. Those Iranian missiles appear to be very accurate. Doesn’t bode well for those without effective ballistic missile defences…

— Alan Warnes (@warnesyworld) March 13, 2026

LATEST UPDATES:

We have concluded our live coverage for the day.

4:20 PM EST –

In a post on X, the House Select Committee on China railed against the Chinese AI firm MizarVision’s assistance to Iran. 

The company owns no satellites, but “pulls imagery from multiple commercial providers, including VANTOR Technologies, Airbus Defence and Space, and China’s Jilin-1 satellite constellation, according to Military AI.

MizarVision’s AI software “scans vast volumes of satellite imagery, automatically identifying equipment ranging from aerial tankers like the KC-135 to missile defense systems like the Patriot,” the outlet noted.

Chinese AI firm @MizarVision is reportedly compiling satellite imagery from providers like @vantortech and @AirbusSpace to map U.S. military deployments across the Middle East.

Companies tied to the CCP are turning AI into a battlefield surveillance tool against America. The…

— Select Committee on China (@ChinaSelect) March 13, 2026

Vice President JD Vance told reporters it is unclear whether the new Supreme Leader of Iran was wounded in an attack by the U.S. or Israel.

NEWS: @VP tells us it’s not clear if the wounds that the new Supreme leader of Iran suffered are from a US strike, given much fire in this war, but it was likely from either Israel and US. “We know that he’s hurt. We don’t know exactly how bad, but we know that he’s hurt,” Vance… pic.twitter.com/5l9BwmYW1J

— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) March 13, 2026

Earlier today, U.S. military officials said tonight would see the most intense bombardment of the war. Now the Israelis are making that claim.

An Israeli leading military journalist is saying that tonight is going to be a very intense night in #Iran in terms of airstrikes, adding “might be the most significant one since the beginning of the war”.
He also says that the attack again Iran’s top intel leadership seems to… https://t.co/HSBIqt9aT7

— Nadav Pollak (@NadavPollak) March 13, 2026

Both Iran and Israel are getting pummeled.

Video emerged on social media showing massive attacks on Tehran.

Meanwhile, there is also video of Iranian ballistic missiles striking central Israel.

3:44 PM EST –

The Tripoli ARG, reportedly tapped to join Epic Fury, is speeding toward the Middle East from Asia, notes open-source investigator MT Anderson.

HIGH-SPEED SURGE: USS Tripoli ARG Sprints for the Middle East

OSINT Update (Mar 12 imagery): Following the announcement that the Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group is heading to the Middle East for Operation Epic Fury, visual evidence confirms she wastes no time.

She is already… https://t.co/Mk5NvCriwp pic.twitter.com/NJ5NnHqgu9

— MT Anderson (@MT_Anderson) March 13, 2026

In a YouTube video, the Economist offers some insights into how the war in Iran has widespread implications across the globe.

“The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz—a slim waterway between Oman and Iran through which a large proportion of global oil and gas supply flows—has consequences for much of the world,” the publication noted. “The fall-out will not be felt evenly. Russia has a lot to gain from the escalating conflict.”

Is Russia the real winner from the war in Iran? | The Economist

A cyber attack by Iran-linked hackers “has paused the supply of essential medical equipment to UK hospitals,” TheIPaper reports. “Handala – a hacktivist group linked to Iranian intelligence – successfully breached the IT systems of a global medical technology firm supplying the NHS, pausing orders of mouth swabs and defibrillators to UK hospitals.”

NEW: A cyber attack by Iran-linked hackers has paused the supply of essential medical equipment to UK hospitals.

Handala – a hacktivist group linked to Iranian intelligence – successfully breached the IT systems of a global medical technology firm supplying the NHS, pausing…

— Richard Holmes 🕵🏻‍♂️ (@Richard_AHolmes) March 13, 2026

Despite proclamations from Hegseth to the contrary, the number of Iranian missile launchers has held steady after a week of unrelenting airstrikes, Bloomberg News reported, citing Israeli and western estimates. This highlights “the difficulty of finding small, mobile targets without having complete control of the skies,” the outlet explained.

3:00 PM EST—

CENTCOM has published this video showing B-2 Spirit bombers taking off for a raid on Iran. Flying global non-stop missions from their home base in Whiteman, Missouri, America’s stealth bombers have so far targeted Iran’s missile caves. These facilities are built deep under mountains and are primarily used for storage, but some of them actually have the ability to launch ballistic missiles through apertures in their ceilings.

B-2 stealth bombers takeoff to conduct a mission during Operation Epic Fury, delivering long-range fire to not only eliminate the threat from the Iranian regime today, but also eliminate their ability to rebuild in the future. pic.twitter.com/ebyUYNnOLo

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 13, 2026

2:50 PM EST—

The U.K. Ministry of Defence says that a British counter-drone unit shot down “multiple drones overnight” following recent strikes on coalition bases in Iraq. Meanwhile, U.K. Royal Air Force Typhoon fighters flew air defense operations over Bahrain for the first time, the MoD said in an update shared on X.

It added: “British Typhoon and F-35 jets are now flying in defence of British interests and allies across Qatar, Cyprus, UAE, Jordan, and Bahrain. U.K. defences in the eastern Mediterranean now include Typhoon and F-35 jets, air defense and counter-drone units, Wildcat and Merlin helicopters, and a further 400 air defense personnel are currently deployed to protect British lives and interests.”

2:30 PM EST—

Sri Lanka today repatriated the remains of 84 Iranians killed in the U.S. attack on the frigate IRIS Dena, sunk by a U.S. Navy submarine, local officials said.

The sailors were killed when the IRIS Dena was torpedoed on March 4 just off the coast of Sri Lanka, in an incident that you can read more about here.

An Airbus A340 chartered by Iran “left a short while ago carrying the remains of the sailors,” an airport official at Mattala International Airport in the island’s south told AFP earlier today.

The destination of the flight was not disclosed.

This is the Turkish Antalya A340, chartered by Iran to repatriate the remains of 84 sailors killed in a US submarine attack on March 4 just off Sri Lanka’s southern coast. The aircraft has landed at Mattala,- often dubbed Sri Lanka’s ‘ghost airport’ and the world’s emptiest. https://t.co/Yn6ryI9H18 pic.twitter.com/n8Gy5SfTnf

— Ranga Sirilal (@rangaba) March 13, 2026

2:25 PM EST—

Only 77 ships have so far crossed the Strait of Hormuz this month, as the war continues to disrupt one of the world’s most vital shipping routes. This data was provided today by Lloyd’s List Intelligence. Significantly, Lloyd’s said that most of these vessels belonged to the so-called ‘shadow fleet’ — ships used to evade Western sanctions and regulations, typically linked to Russia and Iran.

The 77 transits recorded so far this month compare with 1,229 passages in the same period last year, according to Lloyd’s List.

🚨 Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has collapsed amid the Middle East war.

Just 77 ships have crossed so far in March, compared to 1,229 during the same period last year, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence.

Most vessels making the passage belong to sanction-evading… pic.twitter.com/WKoNAAl2eA

— Mossad Commentary (@MOSSADil) March 13, 2026

1:48 PM EST—

There are reports that India has cut a deal with Iran to allow their energy shipments to pass through the Strait.

Iran and India cut a deal: two LPG tankers get through the strait.

That countries are engaging in bilateral discussions with Iran points to the success of the Iranian strategy–as well as the ongoing failure of the US to resolve the security crisis in the strait.…

— Gregory Brew (@gbrew24) March 13, 2026

The Ford is still in the Red Sea and gaining destroyer escorts. It isn’t clear what the plan is for the carrier, but it could move through the tumultuous Bab el Mandeb Strait, which the Houthis again threatened, in order to be in a better striking position in the Arabian Sea. The ship suffered a fire in a laundry facility and is on its second deployment extension. How long it can stay on station remains a major question.

THE BUILDUP CONTINUES: 3rd Destroyer Joins the Ford

OSINT Update (Mar 12 imagery): Tracking the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) as she continues to hold off the coast of Al Wajh in the Northern Red Sea.

She has shifted her box slightly to ~100km offshore, but the critical tactical… pic.twitter.com/lR1p6qSbmI

— MT Anderson (@MT_Anderson) March 13, 2026

Some commentary on the Marine deployment to the Middle East from TWZ‘s editor:

When you think of a Marine Expeditionary Unit in the context of this conflict, one target comes to mind: Kharg Island, where the majority of Iran’s oil exports flow. Untouched by the conflict yet, due to its strategic value and critical infrastructure. Seizing it would be a huge deal and would be a risky operation. Not just the seizing, but more so the staying. If Iran thought it was lost, they could bombard it with pretty much everything they have. Also, unlikely to push the MEU into the Persian Gulf. Would be an aerial operation, also not without risks.

There are also a number of islands in and around the Strait of Hormuz that could be used to help put up a screen against shipping attacks, etc. Also risky for obvious reasons.

There are also a number of islands in and around the Strait of Hormuz that could be used help put up a screen against shipping attacks etc. Also risky for obvious reasons. pic.twitter.com/0nolqdew9J

— Tyler Rogoway (@Aviation_Intel) March 13, 2026

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com