TODAY

A United States federal judge has once again batted down a pair of subpoenas from the administration of President Donald Trump seeking information about Jerome Powell, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, the country’s central bank.

In a brief, six-page opinion published on Friday, Judge James Boasberg rejected the Department of Justice’s motion to reconsider his earlier ruling rejecting the subpoenas.

“The Government’s arguments do not come close to convincing the Court that a different outcome is warranted,” Boasberg wrote.

On March 13, Boasberg, a judge for the federal court in the District of Columbia, nullified the subpoenas on the basis that they were issued for an “improper purpose”: to pressure Powell into compliance with the president’s demands.

Trump and Powell — an appointee from the president’s first term — have been at loggerheads since the Republican leader returned to the White House in January 2025.

Although the Federal Reserve is an independent government agency, not subject to political demands, Trump has repeatedly called on the bank to slash interest rates, and he has denounced Powell as “incompetent”, “crooked” and a “fool” for not following suit.

For months, pressure had been building from the Trump White House to investigate Powell and push him prematurely from his job as Federal Reserve chair. Powell’s term is slated to expire in May.

Much of the Trump administration’s focus has fallen on renovations to the Federal Reserve’s historic 1930s buildings in Washington, DC, which have gone over budget.

The administration has pointed to the cost overruns as evidence of malfeasance.

Last July, for instance, Trump appointee William Pulte called on Congress to investigate Powell for “political bias” and “deceptive” testimony related to the renovation project.

The following month, Trump posted on his platform Truth Social that he was considering “a major lawsuit against Powell” in response to “horrible, and grossly incompetent” work on the renovations.

The pressure reached a climax on January 11, when Powell made a rare statement announcing he was under a Justice Department investigation over the renovation project. He dismissed the probe as a “pretext” to undermine the Federal Reserve’s leadership over monetary policy.

“The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the president,” Powell said.

The Federal Reserve has since sought to have the subpoenas into Powell’s behaviour tossed.

Boasberg sided with the central bank in his initial ruling, and in Friday’s opinion, he called the Trump administration’s efforts to change his mind insufficient.

The Justice Department had argued that it does not need to produce evidence of a crime to seek a grand jury subpoena.

Boasberg agreed with that point, but he said subpoenas were also subject to a legal standard that bars them from being issued for “improper” purposes.

“The subpoena power ‘is not unlimited’ and may not be abused,” Boasberg wrote, citing court precedent.

He therefore ruled that the lack of evidence overall against Powell was relevant to the legality of the subpoenas.

“The controlling legal question is what these ‘subpoena[s’] dominant purpose’ is: pressuring Powell to lower rates or resign, or pursuing a legitimate investigation opened because the facts suggested wrongdoing,” Boasberg said.

“Resolving that question requires probing whether the Government’s asserted basis for the subpoenas — suspicions of fraud and lying to Congress — is colorable or tenuous. That inquiry, in turn, means asking how much evidence there is to back up the Government’s assertions.”

Boasberg underscored that he has seen no suggestion that Powell committed criminal wrongdoing and pointed to the long list of statements Trump has made attacking the Federal Reserve chair, suggesting an ulterior motive.

“The Government’s fundamental problem is that it has presented no evidence whatsoever of fraud,” he concluded.

Friday’s ruling is likely to set the stage for the Trump administration to appeal. US Attorney Jeanine Pirro has previously denied any political motivation for the investigation.

She has also asserted that Boasberg is “without legal authority” to nullify the subpoenas.

It was ​not ⁠immediately clear how the vessel, which Marine Traffic tracking data shows is sailing south along the coast of Oman, secured safe passage.

A container ship belonging to French shipping giant CMA CGM has crossed ⁠⁠through the Strait of Hormuz, the first such passage by a Western vessel since Iran effectively closed the waterway, the Marine Traffic vessel website shows.

The Malta-flagged Kribi, owned by CMA CGM, crossed the Strait on April 2 and is the first French-owned vessel to ‌‌make it through the channel since the US-Israeli war on Iran began on February 28.

It was not ⁠⁠immediately clear how the vessel, which the data shows is sailing south along the coast of Oman, secured safe passage.

There was no immediate comment from CMA CGM.

However, LSEG ⁠⁠shipping data showed the vessel on Thursday changed its destination to “Owner France”, ⁠⁠signalling to Iranian authorities the nationality ⁠⁠of its owner, before crossing the strait’s Iranian territorial waters.

The ship had originally been bound for Pointe-Noire in the Republic of ‌‌the Congo.

Only about 150 vessels, including tankers and container ships, have transited the strait since March 1, according to data firm Lloyd’s List Intelligence. Most were linked to Iran and countries including China, India and Pakistan.

Beijing expressed “gratitude” on Tuesday after three of its ships passed through the strait, including two container ships on Monday belonging to state-owned shipping giant Cosco.

Energy crisis

Until the war led to the effective blocking of the Strait, it was the route for about a fifth of global oil and ⁠⁠liquefied natural gas supplies. As a result, fuel prices have skyrocketed worldwide.

On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump insisted that petrol prices would fall quickly once the war concluded, but offered no solution for reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Instead, he invited sceptical US allies to do it themselves. He insisted that the war would be worth it.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday it would ⁠⁠be unrealistic to launch a military operation to open the strait, and ⁠⁠that only diplomatic efforts would work.

Macron has worked with European and other ⁠⁠allies to build a coalition to guarantee free passage through the strait once hostilities have stopped.

Meanwhile, writing in the US journal Foreign Affairs, Iran’s former top diplomat said that Tehran should make a deal with the United States to end the war by offering to curb its nuclear programme and reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for sanctions relief.

Tehran could “declare victory and make a deal that both ends this conflict and prevents the next one,” wrote Mohammad Javad Zarif, foreign minister from 2013 to 2021.

The United States and Israel have carried out multiple attacks on medical facilities in the course of their war on Iran.

On Thursday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian appealed to international health organisations to respond to attacks on medical facilities in Iran, including the Pasteur Institute in capital Tehran, a key centre that Iranian officials said had been targeted that day.

At least 2,076 people have been killed and 26,500 have been wounded in Iran since the US and Israel first launched strikes on the country on February 28.

Here is a closer look at how the US and Israel have hit healthcare facilities in Iran.

What has the Iranian president said about attacks on healthcare?

On Thursday, Pezeshkian wrote in an X post: “What message does attacking hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and the Pasteur Institute as a medical research center in Iran convey?”

The Iranian president, 71, a heart surgeon by profession, continued: “As a specialist physician, I urge WHO [the World Health Organization], the Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders and physicians worldwide to respond to this crime against humanity.”

What is the Pasteur Institute, which has been targeted?

On Thursday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei wrote in an X post: “The American-Israeli aggressors have attacked the Pasteur Institute of Iran – the oldest and most prestigious research and public health centre in Iran and the entire Middle East, founded in 1920 through an agreement between the Pasteur Institute of Paris and the Iranian government.”

Baghaei deemed the attack “heartbreaking, cruel, despicable, and utterly outrageous”.

He did not specify whether there were casualties from the attack.

The institute was founded more than 100 years ago in collaboration with the Institut Pasteur in Paris, an internationally renowned centre for biomedical research, which itself was founded in 1887.

The institute in Iran conducts research on infectious diseases, produces vaccines and biological products and provides advanced diagnostics.

The centre has played a central role in fighting endemic diseases such as smallpox and cholera. It also supports Iran’s national immunisation programme by developing and producing vaccines and related biologicals – including those used against diseases such as tetanus, hepatitis B and measles.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the WHO, wrote in an X post on Friday that two departments of the Pasteur Institute of Iran have also been working closely with the WHO.

“The conflict in Iran, and the region, is impacting the delivery of health services and the safety of health workers, patients, and civilians present at health facilities,” Ghebreyesus wrote.

Which other healthcare facilities have been hit in Iran?

“Since 1 March, WHO has verified over 20 attacks on health care in Iran, resulting in at least nine deaths, including that of an infectious diseases health worker and a member of the Iranian Red Crescent Society,” Ghebreyesus wrote in his X post.

Some of the facilities hit include:

Red Crescent warehouse

On Friday morning, a drone strike hit a Red Crescent relief warehouse in Iran’s Bushehr province.

While no casualties were reported, the attack destroyed two relief containers, two buses and emergency vehicles, Fars news agency reported.

Tofigh Daru

On March 31, Israeli-US strikes hit one of Iran’s largest pharmaceutical companies in Tehran, the Iranian government said in a post on X.

The company was later identified as Tofigh Daru Research and Engineering Company, which is owned by the Social Security Investment Company, a state-run holding firm. On LinkedIn, Tofigh Daru states that it develops and produces active pharmaceutical ingredients “in the anticancer, narcotics, cardiovascular to immunomodulatory segments”.

No confirmed casualty numbers were reported from that strike.

Delaram Sina Psychiatric Hospital

This newly constructed hospital in Tehran was significantly damaged during an attack on the capital on March 29, according to the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

About 30 patients were in the hospital at the time of the strike late on Monday, the hospital’s director told IRNA. No specific casualty figures for the hospital have been reported.

Ali Hospital

The hospital in Andimeshk in Iran’s Khuzestan province sustained damage from an explosion on March 21, according to the Mehr and Fars news agencies.

In his post on Friday, Ghebreyesus confirmed this attack and said the facility had been forced to evacuate staff and cease services.

Reports about the attack do not mention casualties at the hospital.

Gandhi Hospital

On March 2, Gandhi Hospital in Tehran was damaged during attacks on a television communications tower nearby.

No confirmed casualty figures were reported for the hospital itself.

What does international law say about attacks on healthcare?

International humanitarian law states that health establishments and units, including hospitals, should not be attacked, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

These protections also apply to the sick and wounded, to medical staff and to means of transport such as ambulances.

In 2016, the United Nations Security Council resolution 2286 was adopted unanimously. This condemns attacks on healthcare and calls on nations to respect international law.

However, last year record attacks on healthcare during armed conflict were recorded, according to the WHO’s Surveillance System for Attacks on Health Care (SSA).

The SSA said that in armed conflicts worldwide, 1,348 attacks on medical facilities resulted in the killing of 1,981 people. The majority of these deaths were in Sudan, where 1,620 people were killed, followed by Myanmar, where 148 people were killed.

This was a sharp uptick from 2024, when 944 patients and medical personnel were killed in armed conflict.

Where else has Israel targeted medical staff and facilities?

Lebanon

Besides Iran, Israeli attacks have also targeted healthcare facilities in Lebanon.

A month into its latest bombardment of Lebanon, Israel has killed 53 medical workers, destroyed 87 ambulances or medical centres, and forced the closure of five hospitals, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health.

“Israeli strikes and blanket evacuation orders are cutting people off from care and shrinking the space for health services to function,” Luna Hammad, the Lebanon medical coordinator for Doctors Without Borders (MSF), told Al Jazeera, adding that MSF has seen “a documented pattern of attacks affecting healthcare”.

Gaza

Throughout its genocidal war in Gaza, Israel has also attacked healthcare facilities in the Palestinian enclave.

In October 2023, hundreds of people sheltering in the car park of Gaza’s al-Ahli Hospital were killed in an Israeli attack, according to Palestinian health officials.

Israel attributed the explosion at the facility to a misfired rocket launched by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, an allegation denied by the armed group.

In March 2024, the Israeli military said it killed 90 people in its raid on al-Shifa Hospital during a siege, as displaced Palestinians sheltering in the facility described long detentions and abuse.

In December 2024, the Israeli army arrested Dr Hussam Abu Safia, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, after refusing to follow orders to abandon one of the last functioning hospitals in northern Gaza. His arrest came a day after the military killed approximately 20 Palestinians and apprehended about 240 in a raid inside the hospital, which was one of the “largest operations” conducted in the territory until that time.

In March 2025, Israeli forces reportedly shot dead 15 Palestinian medics for the Palestine Red Crescent Society and inside clearly identifiable PRCS ambulances, during a rescue mission in Rafah’s Tal as-Sultan neighbourhood.

The Azzurri’s failure to reach a third consecutive World Cup continues to send shockwaves through Italian football.

Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso has left his role “by mutual consent”, three days after the national team failed to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup.

The Italian football federation announced the news in a statement on Friday, thanking Gattuso “for the dedication and passion” during his nine months in charge.

Italy’s chances of reaching this year’s tournament in North America ended on Tuesday after a penalty shootout loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina in a qualifying playoff.

“With a heavy ‌heart, having failed to achieve the goal we had set ourselves, I consider my time in charge of the national team to be over,” Gattuso said in a statement.

“The Azzurri shirt is the most precious asset in football, which is why it is right to facilitate future technical assessments with immediate effect.

“It has been an honour to lead the ⁠national team, and to do so with a group ⁠of lads who have shown commitment and loyalty to the shirt.”

Gattuso was appointed in June on a one-year contract, replacing Luciano Spalletti who was sacked following Italy’s 3-0 defeat by Norway ⁠in their opening group game, although he remained in place for the 2-0 win over Moldova the next ⁠day.

Italy won their next five group games under ⁠Gattuso, but given Norway’s far superior goal difference, they were resigned to another World Cup playoff before the final group game, which Norway won 4-1 at the San Siro.

Italy had lost at ‌the playoff stage for the last two World Cups to Sweden and North Macedonia, respectively, but looked on course to make it this time after a 2-0 win over Northern Ireland ‌in ‌the semifinal, before it all fell apart in Bosnia.

Gattuso’s 10-man team let slip a 1-0 lead and crumbled in the penalty shootout.

His departure comes a day after Italy’s football federation president Gabriele Gravina resigned, along with Gianluigi Buffon, who was the national team’s delegation chief.

There is a risk of significant travel disruption during what is predicted to be the busiest Easter weekend in four years for drivers.

Bridges could close and ferry services may be cancelled, with possible delays to planes, trains and buses.

Rough seas and large waves will bring dangerous conditions around the coasts.

Parts of north-west Scotland are also covered by a Met Office yellow warning for rain and snow.

At low levels, especially in the Western Isles and Skye, up to 50mm (2in) of rain could fall with the potential for flooding.

Meanwhile hills and mountains above 200m (650ft) are likely to see snow, with 5-10cm (2-4in) expected to accumulate, and a small chance of 20cm (8in) in a few places.

Coupled with the strong winds this could give blizzards, snowdrifts and very poor visibility on the roads.

In the event of an emergency, the U-turn is the fastest way home in the first 36 hours after the TLI. After that it can be just as quick, and often simpler, to stay on course around the Moon and fall back to Earth, Orion programme manager Howard Hu said before the launch.

A photographer on a flight over Greenville, Texas, captured an especially good look at one of the U.S. Air Force’s RC-135V/W Rivet Joint aircraft with its usual paint scheme completely stripped off. Instead, much of its skin is seen covered with a green-colored protective coating. The airliner-sized, C-135-based Rivet Joints are powerful multi-purpose intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft that can scoop up details about an opponent’s air defenses and other assets from their electronic emissions, as well as intercept communications chatter.

Dylan Phelps took the picture of the ‘naked’ Rivet Joint, seen at the top of this story, while flying over Greenville Municipal Airport, also known as Majors Field, at the tail end of a recent trip across the middle of the United States. Phelps flew in a Cessna 182 piloted by Curt Lewis.

L3Harris has a facility at the airport in Greenville where the Air Force’s Rivet Joints and other RC-135 variants routinely go to receive upgrades, as well as undergo higher-level maintenance. L3Harris performs similar work there on a variety of other large U.S. military special mission and VIP planes. This kind of work also often involves stripping and repainting the aircraft.

Rivet Joints are “perhaps the most sophisticated airborne surveillance and reconnaissance platform in the world,” Jon Rambeau, President of L3Harris Integrated Mission Systems, told reporters at the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) in the United Kingdom last July, according to FlightGlobal. “The aircraft gets a full tip-to-tail refresh every four years – that’s the airframe as well as all the technology that resides inside it.”

With its paint stripped off, the sheer volume of antennas that dot the top of the Rivet Joint’s fuselage really stands out. Not visible from this particular viewpoint are the arrays of additional antennas underneath the aircraft. The RC-135V/Ws also carry additional systems in their elongated noses and “chipmunk cheeks” on either side of the forward fuselage. The Automatic Electronic Emitter Locating System (AEELS) is one of the things that has been contained inside the cheek fairings, at least in the past.

The Air Force’s current fleet of 17 Rivet Joints are the latest iterations of RC-135 variants that first entered service in the early 1960s. The United Kingdom is currently the only other operator of the Rivet Joint, with the Royal Air Force (RAF) flying three of these aircraft. The image from Greenville underscores how, despite the age of these assets, they continue to get new capabilities, as exemplified by the multiple high-bandwidth satellite communications terminals now seen on their spines.

Specific details about their capabilities are classified, but the RC-135V/Ws are known to be able to detect, geolocate, categorize, and monitor a variety of different signals and whatever is transmitting them. As such, the aircraft can gather valuable intelligence about the capabilities of those emitters, which can include air defense radars and command and control nodes, as well as just map out their locations. In this way, the jets provide information that is invaluable for creating so-called “electronic orders of battle” detailing an opponent’s force posture during peacetime, as well as in the lead-up to a major campaign. Rivet Joints can then continue to provide that kind of support during combat operations, helping keep tabs on changes in an enemy’s disposition on the battlefield.

As noted, Rivet Joints can also intercept communications chatter. In addition to onboard signals and electronic warfare specialists, the crews of the jets typically include linguists to allow for immediate analysis of those intercepts, as well as signals data. The RC-135V/Ws also have extensive communications and data-sharing suites so they can send intelligence collected to other nodes for further exploitation in near real time. The jets are also capable of passing information directly to forces engaged in tactical operations.

With their complete standoff surveillance suite, Air Force RC-135V/Ws serve as the backbone of U.S. airborne electronic intelligence collection capabilities, and are in consistently high demand as a result. Rivet Joints are currently among the array of ISR assets supporting ongoing operations against Iran. The aircraft also played a key role in the lead-up to the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro in January, as well as the execution of that operation.

The Rivet Joint’s capabilities continue to evolve, as underscored by the pairing of an RC-135V/W with one of the Air Force’s new EA-37B Compass Call electronic warfare jets. You can read more about the EA-37B, which is also now taking part in operations against Iran, here.

“The synergistic integration of Rivet Joint’s intelligence gathering with Compass Call’s electronic warfare capabilities has proven to be a game-changer on the modern battlefield. We’re not simply flying sorties; we’re creating a new paradigm,” Air Force Capt. Jasmine Harris, a member of the 38th Reconnaissance Squadron, said in a statement at the time. “By refining tactics, techniques, and procedures, we’re ensuring our forces maintain a decisive advantage in the electromagnetic spectrum.”

“This level of sustained, continuous integration has never been conducted before by these two assets,” Air Force Capt. Wesley Ballinger, also from the 38th, said, as well. “Both assets complete specific actions in the kill-chain, and now the kill-chain is being refined into a faster, robust, and more lethal tool.”

As it stands now, there is no firm plan for a replacement for the Rivet Joints, at least that is publicly known. The Air Force has said in the past that it expects the RC-135V/Ws to continue flying at least through 2050.

Overall, “the RC-135 is an unmatched capability,” L3Harris’ Rambeau also said at RIAT last year, per FlightGlobal. “While some of the Rivet Joint capability could be integrated on a business jet-size platform, there are some things related to physics and the distance between point A and point B that have to be on a larger aircraft.”

At the same time, the Cold War-era aircraft are aging, and the Air Force has faced challenges in sustaining them in the past. Questions have also been raised about their survivability in future conflicts, especially in a potential high-end fight in the Pacific against China.

Regardless, the RC-135V/W fleet looks to have decades more service ahead of it, and the aircraft will continue to make trips to Greenville for upgrades in maintenance.

Special thanks again to Dylan Phelps for sharing the picture of the Rivet Joint stripped of its paint with us.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

Around 40% of clubs in England’s top four divisions of men’s football have changed their manager this season, and one in four of those teams have made more than one change.

With those stats still so high, I am sure people outside the game must be wondering about the process of appointing a manager.

In my day, I never once put on a presentation in front of a chairman or board of directors as part of any interview process.

Usually it was your management record, and your relative success with the respective budgets you’d been given, that would seal the deal.

Today, that has all changed. Many managers and coaches, I’m told, pay to have these presentations professionally prepared for them.

Before you get to that stage, however, club owners and chairmen will rely on their sporting director and chief executive to compile a list of names.

As I’ve mentioned in previous columns about the lack of opportunities now for British managers, with so many foreign owners in our game, there are lots of foreign sporting directors too, so it is not surprising they appoint managers and coaches they know.

Also, the agents who have assisted the owners when they purchased the club, will often have a big say on who the sporting director is too.

Players will also flow into some clubs in a similar fashion, I’m sure, and I’m afraid all of this impinges on managers and coaches from this country, who are not part of that network.

Academy coaches from the top clubs are finding a way through the system, as I am sure their contacts with clubs’ young players is part of their appeal.

It is definitely a route into management that is worth following but I am sure any ex-professionals who have followed it will have quickly been exposed to the key difference between managing at academy level and being in charge of a club’s first team.

Unlike academy football, which is about development, first-team football is about winning.

Every week you will be judged on your result and, no matter what philosophy you employ, the fanbase and the people above you will react accordingly.

Trump steps up threats after US strike on Iran’s largest bridge, as Tehran launches attacks across the region.

Caracas, April 2, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – The US Treasury Department removed Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodríguez from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) “Specially Designated Nationals” list on Wednesday, April 1.

Rodríguez had been on the list since 2018. The sanctioned individuals are barred from any sort of economic or financial relationship with US entities and have any US-based assets frozen.

The Venezuelan acting head of state reacted to the decision with a message on her X account, calling it “a step in the direction of normalizing and strengthening relations between our countries.”

Rodríguez added that she is confident this step will lead to the lifting of all sanctions currently in place against Venezuela “in order to guarantee an effective binational cooperation agenda” that benefits both Washington and Caracas. In recent weeks, the Trump administration has issued licenses allowing Western corporations to engage with the Venezuelan energy and mining sectors, but wide-reaching coercive measures remain in place.

The US government targeted Rodríguez in September 2018, Trump’s first presidential term, alleging that the then–vice president was part of a group that contributed “to the destruction of democracy.” The same round of sanctions targeted First Lady and Deputy Cilia Flores, as well as Vladimir Padrino López and Jorge Rodríguez, who respectively served as defense and communications ministers at the time.

Delcy Rodríguez denounced the 2018 measures as “illegal” and “unjust,” arguing that they were part of an “economic blockade” that undermined her country’s right to food, health, and sovereignty.

The Venezuelan leader’s sanctions removal opens the door for direct engagement with US entities and multilateral organizations such as the IMF. Creditors have likewise expressed intentions to launch renegotiation efforts surrounding Venezuela’s sizable foreign debt.

The Trump administration’s move comes on the heels of a fast-tracked rapprochement with Washington that Rodríguez has spearheaded since the January 3 attacks and kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro. Rodríguez, who took over the acting presidency, has hosted a number of high‑ranking US officials, among them Trump Energy Secretary Chris Wright.

Similarly, last week Rodríguez took part via videoconference in a business gathering in Miami organized by Saudi Arabia’s Future Investment Initiative Institute. During her address, she touted the country’s recent pro-business reforms and urged investors to come to Venezuela.

Caracas and Washington formally reestablished diplomatic ties on March 5, with the Trump administration recognizing the acting president as Venezuela’s “sole” leader days later.

Regaining control of CITGO

The lifting of coercive measures against the Venezuelan acting president raised the possibility of the Rodríguez acting government retaking control of US-based assets that had been frozen and placed under the control of the hardline opposition. According to Reuters, Venezuelan authorities are preparing to take control of the boards of directors of the US subsidiaries of state oil company PDVSA, including refiner CITGO. However, the US State Department must also sign off on the appointments.

This past March, PDVSA’s board ratified Asdrúbal Chávez, cousin of the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, as director of all its US subsidiaries. Nonetheless, Chávez, who was previously denied a US visa to run Houston-based CITGO, has been unable to manage the companies for more than seven years.

CITGO has been administered since 2019 by boards of directors appointed by a defunct Venezuelan opposition‑led National Assembly whose term expired in January 2021. The company, which is Venezuela’s most valuable foreign asset, underwent a long and protracted court-mandated auction to satisfy creditor demands which concluded with a winning bid from vulture fund Elliott Management.

The CITGO sale requires a US Treasury license in order to conclude. The Trump administration has not publicly disclosed whether it will greenlight or halt the ownership transfer.

Edited by Ricardo Vaz in Caracas.

9-year-old Karim Al-Haj Hussein survived an Israeli strike on his home in Lebanon’s Baalbek that killed his mother, father and other family members. Karim managed to crawl from the rubble of his home, despite being injured himself.

US president has said that he will use tariffs to bring down costly pharmaceutical drugs, but the impact remains uncertain.

United States President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that could slap long-threatened tariffs of up to 100 percent on some patented drugs if pharmaceutical companies don’t reach deals with his administration in the coming months.

Under Thursday’s executive order, companies that have signed a “most favoured nation” pricing deal and are actively building facilities in the US will have a zero-percent tariff.

For those that don’t have a pricing deal but are building such projects in the US, a 20 percent tariff will apply, but it will increase to 100 percent in four years.

A senior administration official told reporters on a press call that companies still have months to negotiate before the 100 percent tariffs kick in. Bigger companies will have 120 days, and 180 days are offered for everyone else.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to preview the executive order before it was issued, did not identify any companies or drugs that were in jeopardy of getting hit with the increased tariffs.

But the source noted the administration had already reached 17 pricing deals with major drugmakers, 13 of which have signed.

In Thursday’s executive order, Trump wrote that he deemed the tariffs necessary “to address the threatened impairment of the national security posed by imports of pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical ingredients”.

The order arrived on the first anniversary of Trump’s so-called Liberation Day, when the president unveiled sweeping new import taxes on nearly every country in the world, sending the stock market reeling. Those “Liberation Day” tariffs were among the duties the Supreme Court overturned in February.

Critics, pharmaceutical leaders and medical groups warned of the consequences the new tariffs could bring.

Stephen J Ubl, the CEO of the pharmaceutical company trade group PhRMA, said taxes “on cutting-edge medicines will increase costs and could jeopardize billions in US investments”.

He pointed to America’s already large footprint in biopharmaceutical manufacturing and noted medicines sourced from other countries “overwhelmingly come from reliable US allies”.

Trump has launched a barrage of new import taxes on US trading partners since the start of his second term and repeatedly pledged sky-high levies on foreign-made drugs.

But the administration has also used the threat of new levies to strike deals with major companies — like Pfizer, Eli Lilly and Bristol Myers Squibb — over the last year, with promises of lower prices for new drugs.

Beyond company-specific rates, a handful of countries have reached trade frameworks with the US to further cap tariffs on drugs sent to the US.

The European Union, Japan, Korea and Switzerland will see a 15 percent US tariff on patented pharmaceuticals, matching previously agreed rates for most goods.

Meanwhile, the United Kingdom will get 10 percent, which Thursday’s order noted would “then reduce to zero” under future trade agreements.

The UK previously said it secured a zero-percent tariff rate for all British medicines exported to the US for at least three years.

Former clerk Tina Peters has become a cause celebre for the election denial movement and President Donald Trump.

An appeals court in the state of Colorado has ordered the resentencing of Tina Peters, a former county clerk convicted of involvement in an election meddling scheme in the United States.

The court overturned Peters’s nine-year prison sentence on Thursday, but not her conviction for helping to tamper with voting machines after the 2020 presidential race.

Her case has become a cause celebre for President Donald Trump and the election denial movement, after it emerged that she was seeking evidence to support Trump’s false claim that his 2020 loss was due to massive fraud.

In Thursday’s decision, the three-judge appeals panel ruled that a lower court had considered Peters’s personal beliefs when deciding upon a punishment, thereby rendering the sentence improper.

“The trial court’s comments about Peters’s belief in the existence of 2020 election fraud went beyond relevant considerations for her sentencing,” the appeals court wrote.

The panel cited comments from Judge Matthew Barrett, who blasted Peters as a “charlatan” promoting “snake oil” claims.

“Her offence was not her belief, however misguided the trial court deemed it to be, in the existence of such election fraud,” the appeals court said. “It was her deceitful actions in her attempt to gather evidence of such fraud.”

Peters was convicted in August 2024 for helping someone from outside the government gain access to the Mesa County election system and make copies.

That person was affiliated with efforts to overturn Trump’s 2020 loss, and the copies they obtained were then shared on social media.

False claims that the 2020 election was marred by massive fraud have been a persistent fixation for Trump and his allies, even after his successful re-election in 2024.

Trump’s efforts to remain in office after his 2020 defeat were the subject of a 2023 criminal indictment brought by former special counsel Jack Smith.

He alleged that Trump led a criminal conspiracy to undermine the election process and rally supporters to overturn the results. Those charges, however, were ultimately dropped when Trump took office again in 2025, as the US Justice Department has a policy against prosecuting sitting presidents.

Since his inauguration, Trump has continued to push the claims he won the 2020 race. He has also used his allegations of fraud to demand greater control over the country’s election infrastructure in advance of the upcoming 2026 midterm elections.

In December, the president pardoned Peters, even though she was not in federal custody, and the presidential power of pardon does not extend to state crimes.

The appeals court panel confirmed on Thursday that Trump’s pardon had no impact on state offences.

“We have found no instance where the presidential pardon power has been stretched in such a way as to invade an individual state’s sovereignty,” the panel said.

State Governor Jared Polis suggested last month that he could consider clemency for Peters.

Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina – The Bilino Polje Stadium in Zenica has witnessed the Bosnian national football team’s giant-killing ways for decades.

Branded a “cursed” venue for visiting sides, it has hosted the Dragons’ triumphs over formidable European opponents – Norway, Greece, Romania, Finland, Wales and Austria – in recent years, while football powerhouses Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands and Turkiye have all been held to draws here.

Bosnia enjoyed an unbeaten streak at Dragons’ Nest between 1995 and 2006. Add to that the stadium’s compact nature, the close proximity of fans, and it’s no wonder the players often say they feel at home here.

Hence, when thousands of Bosnian supporters descended upon the storied arena for the home side’s World Cup playoff final against Italy on Tuesday, it was with an unwavering belief in their team as well as the magic of the venue.

Italy’s storied football history, their four World Cup trophies, and a tag of pre-match favourites did little to dampen the local fans’ hopes. And when Esmir Bajraktarevic drilled the ball past Gianluigi Donnarumma to convert Bosnia’s fourth penalty and inflict a defeat on Italy in a dramatic shootout, pandemonium erupted in the Dragons’ Nest.

‘I’m from Bosnia, take me to America’

Fans began arriving in Zenica – a city 70 kilometres (43 miles) north of the capital, Sarajevo – in the early hours of the morning, well before the 8:45pm (18:45 GMT) kickoff.

Wave after wave of supporters, dressed in the team’s colours and waving the national flag, approached the venue from all parts of the country. Some even flew in from abroad to soak in what promised to be a historic night.

Thousands of them could not even get close to the turnstiles of the 10,000-capacity stadium and instead gathered at a nearby fan zone. Others filled up cafes and restaurants across the city to watch the match on large screens.

There was a strong conviction among the fans that even if the stadium had been 10 times larger, it would have still filled up to capacity on a night of this magnitude.

Members of the popular Bosnian band Dubioza Kolektiv led fans in the streets of Zenica, singing the chorus of their hit song “USA”.

“I am from Bosnia, take me to America” fit the bill perfectly in advance of the deciding match for a place in the World Cup cohosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States.

As kickoff approached, the spectators slowly settled into a familiar rhythm: Getting up on their feet during the players’ warm-up routines, singing songs and bellowing chants that have carried the national team in their most important fixtures, and making enough noise to count as the 12th member of the team.

Bosnom Behar Probeharao (Blossoms Have Bloomed in Bosnia) – a nostalgic refrain that many Bosnians consider a symbol of love for their homeland – rang throughout the cauldron and beyond.

A historic bond, a special night

While the world weighed in on the Italian team’s chances of qualifying for the World Cup after missing out on the last two editions, Bosnia’s legendary captain, Edin Dzeko, reminded fans that their ties with the Azzurri run deeper than an on-field battle.

The 40-year-old striker, with a last shot at playing in the World Cup, asked Bosnian fans to applaud the Italian national anthem before kickoff.

It was a reference to the Italian football team’s visit to Sarajevo in 1996, following the Bosnian war, when they played a friendly match that helped revive international football in the country.

Fans obliged, as they did 30 years ago, and the entire stadium stood up and applauded the Italian anthem. But that’s where the pleasantries ended, and the mission to qualify for the North American World Cup began.

The heated and tense encounter ended 1-1 after extra time, forcing the game into a penalty shootout, where Bosnia emerged as the winners.

The crowd screamed, waved their flags, lit flares on the terraces, and set off fireworks from nearby buildings – illuminating the sky above Zenica and indicating that the party would carry on into the early morning. The players remained on the pitch to share in the joy of the celebrating fans.

Once the stadium emptied out, the party soon spilled onto the streets.

Convoys of cars laden with fans, draped with the flag and blaring horns, turned Zenica into a giant stage, which became the centre of Bosnian celebrations.

‘I believed in the Dragons’

In Sarajevo, a few hours later, a reception was organised for the players and coaching staff, who were greeted by nearly 100,000 supporters, celebrating what many termed one of the greatest wins in the nation’s history.

One frequently shared comment read, “This is not just a victory, it’s a reminder of who we are.”

Twelve years since their painful first-round exit at their World Cup debut, Bosnia had returned to the big time.

One of the most famous nights at the stadium came on March 21, 2013, when Bosnia and Herzegovina defeated Greece in a qualifier, opening the path to the country’s historic first appearance at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

For many fans, the playoff final against Italy carried similar emotions.

Dzevahid Mehicic, an elderly man from Zenica, said many people from his generation doubted they would live to see Bosnia and Herzegovina qualify for the World Cup again.

“They thought that moment might never come again, but I believed the Dragons had the strength to defeat even a powerful Italy,” he told Al Jazeera after Bosnia’s win.

For the younger fans, it was a unique experience of their own.

Wrapped in the national flag, 11-year-old fan Nihad Babovic said teen forward Kerim Alajbegovic was his favourite player besides Dzeko.

“I can’t wait for the World Cup to start so I can watch the matches with my dad.”

For one night, yet again, Zenica became the beating heart of Bosnia as the city’s famous football stadium saw the past and present come together in a moment of collective euphoria.

A major bridge near Tehran was struck today by what Iran has said were U.S.-Israeli strikes. The B1 bridge in Alborz province, one of the tallest in the Middle East, was hit in two waves of attacks, separated by around an hour, Iranian state TV reported. The bridge provides a critical link between Tehran and Karaj. The attack comes a day after U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to bomb Iran “back to the Stone Ages.”

“A few minutes ago, the American-Zionist enemy once again targeted the B1 bridge in Karaj,” a city west of Tehran, state TV said earlier today, adding that the first strike had caused two civilian casualties.

It said the a later attack took place as emergency teams were deployed to the site to help victims of the first strike. We cannot confirm this claim.

Imagery posted to social media showed a clear breach in the road bridge, which connects Tehran and Karaj. While a key logistics node between the two regions.

Earlier this week, Trump’s threatened to “completely obliterate,” all Iranian electrical-generation plants and oil wells. This led to questions about whether the U.S. military was being primed to commit potential war crimes under international law, with the campaign expanding to include civilian targets as a matter of policy.

When asked about this point, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Trump’s statement showed that Iran’s “best move is to make a deal.”

“The United States Armed Forces has capabilities beyond their wildest imagination, and the president is not afraid to use them,” she said.

In response to the bridge strike today, Iran has threatened to hit regional bridges, including in Israel.

Iranian statements also referenced potential targets in Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Jordan and Iraq, signaling a possible widening of threats to regional infrastructure.

UPDATES

UPDATE: 3:15 PM EST –

In a post on his Truth Social site, Trump confirmed that the U.S. attacked the B1 bridge and said there will be more such strikes unless Iran agrees to a peace treaty.

“The biggest bridge in Iran comes tumbling down, never to be used again — Much more to follow!,” Trump proclaimed. “IT IS TIME FOR IRAN TO MAKE A DEAL BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE, AND THERE IS NOTHING LEFT OF WHAT STILL COULD BECOME A GREAT COUNTRY!”

Iranian-backed militias have been increasing their attacks in Iraq in part because Tehran has lost its control over these groups since the launch of Epic Fury, a retired tier one special operator who just left Baghdad told The War Zone. He spoke with us hours after the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad warned of an imminent attack in central Baghdad and a day after the department announced a reward of up to $3 million for information about who is carrying out these attacks.

For years, Iranian-backed groups like Khataib Hezbollah have targeted U.S. and coalition bases, headquarters, embassies and other facilities in Iraq. While these groups have been supported by Iran with funding, weapons, intelligence and command and control, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has also reigned them in, explained the former commando, who now works in the private sector in Iraq on energy and reconstruction projects. He spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing operations. With the IRGC fighting for its own survival now, and its command and control structure decimated, their grip over the militias has loosened.

The degradation of IRGC during Epic Fury is “unleashing the shackles” on the Iranian-backed militias, said the former operator, who fought in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). “The IRGC would keep them in check, and tell them to come back to base and cool it. Now that leadership is gone.”

As it has with its other proxy groups like Hezbollah and the Houthis, Iran has used Iraqi militia groups for military and political leverage when needed. However, many of these militias and their members, also known as Private Mobilization Units (PMU), fought against the U.S. during Operation Iraqi Freedom and have longstanding animosity toward the U.S. They want to kill Americans independent of instructions from Iran, the source stated. 

“Now they’ve gone rogue,” the source proffered. “We have definitely seen an uptick in attacks.”

The result, he posited, has been “chaos across the country.”

On Thursday, the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad warned that “Iraqi terrorist militia groups aligned with Iran may intend to conduct attacks in central Baghdad in the next 24-48 hours.”

“Iran and Iran-aligned terrorist militias have conducted widespread attacks against U.S. citizens and targets associated with the United States throughout Iraq, including in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region (IKR),” the embassy warning added. “They may intend to target U.S. citizens, businesses, universities, diplomatic facilities, energy infrastructure, hotels, airports, and other locations perceived to be associated with the United States, as well as Iraqi institutions and civilian targets.”

We reached out to the State Department to learn what prompted the warning, given the increasing frequency of militia strikes. We will add their response if we get one. The former operator said that the Embassy warning “means there is credible intelligence that they anticipate an attack. They have seen indicators about troop movements or that something is going to happen to the embassy.”

In addition to warning about an imminent attack, the embassy also noted that “(t)errorist militias have targeted Americans for kidnapping.”

This includes the recent abduction of freelance journalist Shelly Kittelson.

“We are deeply alarmed by the kidnapping of Al-Monitor contributor Shelly Kittleson in Iraq,” Al-Monitor said in a statement. “We call for her safe and immediate release. We stand by her vital reporting from the region and call for her swift return to continue her important work.”

The State Department is ‘aware of the reported kidnapping of an American journalist in Baghdad,” said Dylan Johnson, assistant secretary of state for global public affairs, told The Washington Post.

“The Iraqi Interior Ministry said security forces had arrested one suspect and seized a vehicle used in the crime and was tracking alleged accomplices in hopes of recovering Kittleson,” the publication added.

Since the launch of Epic Fury, we have reported on militia attacks on U.S. and coalition facilities in Baghdad as well as to the north  in Kurdish-controlled Erbil.

Victory Base Complex (VBC), a cluster of U.S. military installations surrounding Baghdad International Airport close to the Iraqi capital, has been a particular target. It was recently struck by Khataib Hezbollah first-person view (FPV) drones, destroying a U.S. military Black Hawk helicopter and a critical air defense radar.

The militias also hit a Giraffe-1X radar that was atop the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

As you can see from these videos, the militias have an increasingly advanced arsenal that includes artillery rockets, missiles and especially drones, which complicate defenses. Radars and air defenses at embassies and bases in particular have been targeted by drones, from FPVs to Shaheds.

Regardless of whether the militias are acting on their own, their attacks are clearly benefitting Iran. They have drawn in additional U.S. forces, which have had to respond with strikes of their own. In response to these attacks, U.S. forces have struck back at military targets across Iraq. As we recently pointed out, some of those strikes have involved A-10 Thunderbolt II close support jets conducting strafing runs to protect U.S. interests in Iraq.